Due to a new injury, Thibaut Courtois will not play this season. Another knee injury, should we be worried? No, says doctor Johan Bellemans. “Because construction during rehabilitation is a fragile process.” According to physiotherapist Levin Maychalk, this is a particularly mental setback. “It would be wise to focus on next season now.”
Just before he returned after a serious cruciate ligament injury, Thibaut Courtois was withdrawn from the field again, and is now suffering from a meniscus injury in his other knee.
Knee specialist Johan Bellemans, who has treated many athletes as BOIC's chief physician, was not surprised.
“This is something every sports doctor fears: that the athlete will quickly suffer another injury after the injury and thus fall into a series of injuries. This is the case in the rehabilitation phase.”
The explanation was found quickly. “Your other knee is more stressed, however, because you're keeping your recovering knee, both subconsciously and subconsciously.”
“In addition, you will be putting a lot of stress on your body during rehabilitation. This is after a period of little stress. This buildup is a fragile process.”
Johan Bellmans
“The older the athlete, the greater the risk.”
Can we conclude from the above that Courtois' rehabilitation process went very quickly? However, the Real Madrid goalkeeper was ready faster than expected.
“You shouldn't start throwing stones now,” says Bellemans. “This could be an unfortunate accident.”
“But the older the athlete, the greater the risks. We cannot ignore this observation. Recovery is faster in a young body.”
“This is a sign that the athlete's body is past its peak. Injuries start to happen more quickly and rehabilitation takes longer.”
According to the doctor, this should not have any consequences for the rest of Courtois' career. “He's fully recovered from his meniscus injury. He'll be out for a few weeks, so you have to assume his season is over.”
“The rehab will take a little longer than usual and it will also have consequences on the other knee. He will lose some of the gains he made there.”
“Overall, this is a fairly minor injury from a medical point of view. The consequences will be more mental than physical. He has worked for a long time to get back and now he has to start recovering again. This has a big impact.”
Maychalk: “Now you have to consider two rehabilitation processes.”
According to Levin Maychalk, surgery is the best solution for this injury. The goalkeeper will actually undergo surgery as well. Maychalk also thinks mainly about the mental hit.
“He was ready to play, so this comes at a very unfortunate time. I worked for a long time to get back there, and this is a setback that he has to accept. But with Courtois' mentality, his intensity and his professionalism, Courtois pulled it off.” “It won't be a problem.”
“What is true is that he still has to regain the rhythm of the game after his previous injury, and the rehabilitation process has not been completed yet. So now you have to take two operations into consideration. From a medical point of view, it will definitely be very difficult to play this season or it would not be wise to He has ambitions for it. “It would be better for him to focus on next season now.”
Levin Maychalk (left).
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