Had this message sent to me with a negative rating, not sure why it couldn't have been put in here and debated: "Carra played through cramp, Hamman played with a broken foot"
a) wow, a player played through cramp? That's never happened before! :
Cramp is nasty but it can be played through once it's been stretched out, even though it remains a little tender. A torn muscle cannot. Also, it was extra time and there were no substitutes left.
b) a fracture to the foot, if not majorly serious, can be kept in place by a boot. Also, adrenaline can see you through 'knocks'. Agger and Alonso played on in games with broken feet last season but after those games they were then out for ages. It's often only after, once the player cools down and the boot removed, the foot will then swell. Different injuries inhibit players in different way.
c) a muscle tear after 20 minutes would have meant playing at least 70 minutes limping around while injured. Why is that good for the team? If you'd ever tried to play football with a torn hamstring or groin, you'd know how futile it is. Kewell went to a special training camp in Cadiz to get fit, so why would he walk off after 20 minutes unless he really had to?
Logged