An injury to a famous NFL American football player called Christian McCaffrey is an uncanny comparison to West Ham’s Niclas Fullkrug.
Like Fullkrug McCaffrey was originally described as a half strain and was not thought to be serious potentially only lasting two weeks.
The 28-year-old injury was later diagnosed as Achilles tendonitis and later still bilateral Achilles tendinitis meaning he was experiencing it in both legs.
His father has suggested he suffered the injury through overtraining, something that Fullkrug is said to have done as well.
Like Fullkrug, McCaffrey was sent to Germany for treatment, presumably receiving the same High Volume Injections that the German striker received.
McCaffrey suffered his initial injury on 4 August this year only returning to the San Francisco 49ers last week on Sunday 10 November after 98 days out of action.
The nature of his injury means the 49ers will have to manage McCaffrey’s usage throughout the season, including limiting him in practice potentially for the rest of the season.
Fullkrug suffered his calf injury around 10 September when he pulled out of a German game against the Netherlands and has not played since.
That means he has been out of action for 67 days and counting so may have another 30 days before he recovers enough to play if we follow the McCaffrey example.
In extreme cases of Achilles tendinitis, also known as Achilles tendinopathy surgery is required.
During the surgery, an incision is made in the back of the calf. If the tendon is ruptured, the surgeon will stitch the tendon back together. If the tendon is degenerated, the surgeon may remove the damaged part of the tendon and repair the rest of the tendon with stitches. If there is severe damage to a lot of the tendon, the surgeon might replace part or all of your Achilles tendon. This is done with a tendon taken from another place in your foot.
