Liverpoolâs Jordan Henderson must battle pain as heel condition is incurable
Andy Hunter
Friday 4 December 2015 22.30 GMT
Jordan Henderson has been told there is no medical cure for the heel injury that forced him to miss three months of Liverpoolâs season and that he will have to manage the pain for the foreseeable future.
The Liverpool captain made his first appearance under JĂźrgen Klopp last weekend having been sidelined since August with the heel condition plantar fasciitis in his left foot. His rehabilitation was hindered when he broke a metatarsal in his right foot during training a month later.
Liverpoolâs medical staff consulted counterparts at the Royal Ballet and with the Australia cricket team, because of the prevalence of the problem among dancers and fast bowlers, and also the Boston Red Sox in the search for a solution. Henderson, who was in acute pain during Liverpoolâs end-of-season drubbing at Stoke City in May, also visited a specialist in New Jersey for treatment to his nervous system.
The England international, however, has been informed there is no immediate cure to a problem that Liverpool believe arose from a chronic overload on the heel over several years. Henderson had not had an extended summer break for more than a decade before the pain erupted towards the end of last season. Liverpoolâs medical department has discounted the theory that Hendersonâs gait is responsible, an issue aired in one of Sir Alex Fergusonâs books when explaining his doubts over signing the midfielder for Manchester United.
âItâs been incredibly difficult, not just for me but for the staff as well,â Henderson said. âWith my metatarsal I knew exactly what kind of time scale Iâd be out for but with my heel there isnât a timescale, there isnât really a cure. Thatâs been the most difficult part. Itâs been hard but Iâve had good people around me like Chris Morgan [the head of physiotherapy] and all the staff here. There have been times when Iâve been pretty down because we couldnât find the answers. Now Iâm at a point where I can function, where I can train and start playing some part in games. Hopefully I can continue like that and it will continue to improve.â
Hendersonâs game time will be managed while he builds his fitness back up and his best hope could be for the plantar fascia, the tissue that connects the heel bone to the bones in the foot, to rupture. Jamie Carragher suffered the same problem late in his Liverpool career before a rupture helped alleviate the pain.
The 25-year-old said: âI spoke to Carra briefly and also to quite a few experts and doctors all over the world. There is nothing set in stone for this injury. A lot of people have said to keep having cortisone injections and eventually it may just rupture and that might be the relief that is needed but no one knows. It can vary. People have been out for months after a rupture and others have been out for a week or two.â
Henderson felt âa burning, stabbing, nervyâ pain whenever he planted his left foot for several months and, while the discomfort has reduced significantly, he was aware of the problem in this weekâs substitute appearances at home to Swansea City and in the League Cup at Southampton.
He added: âItâs hard not to be aware of it because Iâve been out for so long with it. When I am coming on all I am focusing on is trying to play my best for the team but there are times in the game when I feel it a little bit and think: âIs it back?â I just need to forget about that and concentrate on playing football. If it comes back, it comes back. There is nothing I can do about it but on the pitch I need to focus on the job and deal with the consequences after the game.â
As for Fergusonâs suggestion the midfielderâs gait could cause injury problems later in his career, Henderson responded: âI donât think it has anything to do with my gait. Hopefully as I take my load up, and the maximum I have played is 25-30 minutes so far, my foot doesnât react too much and I can get back to the level I want to be at.â
The Liverpool captain said he felt âhelplessâ looking on as Brendan Rodgers lost his job and when Klopp began to implement ideas on the training ground without him. Henderson said of the teamâs transformation under the German coach: âThe manager is very energetic and passionate on the training field and wants us to be like that when we are playing. That has transmitted to the players. If you look at our performances of late they have been really high intensity and high quality with and without the ball.
âHe has got that message across very clearly and very well and the players have taken that on board. That is the biggest thing I would say.â
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/04/liverpool-jordan-henderson-heel-injury?
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