Jordan Henderson (Liverpool -> Al-Ettifaq (5 months) -> Ajax)

Liverpool’s 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 Liverpool’s season and that he will have to manage the pain for the foreseeable future.

The Liverpool captain made his first appearance under Jürgen 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.

Liverpool’s 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 Liverpool’s 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. Liverpool’s medical department has discounted the theory that Henderson’s gait is responsible, an issue aired in one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s books when explaining his doubts over signing the midfielder for Manchester United.

“It’s been incredibly difficult, not just for me but for the staff as well,” Henderson said. “With my metatarsal I knew exactly what kind of time scale I’d be out for but with my heel there isn’t a timescale, there isn’t really a cure. That’s been the most difficult part. It’s been hard but I’ve had good people around me like Chris Morgan [the head of physiotherapy] and all the staff here. There have been times when I’ve been pretty down because we couldn’t find the answers. Now I’m 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.”

Henderson’s 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: “I 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.”

Henderson felt “a burning, stabbing, nervy” 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 week’s substitute appearances at home to Swansea City and in the League Cup at Southampton.

He added: “It’s hard not to be aware of it because I’ve 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: ‘Is it back?’ 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.”

As for Ferguson’s suggestion the midfielder’s gait could cause injury problems later in his career, Henderson responded: “I don’t 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 doesn’t react too much and I can get back to the level I want to be at.”

The Liverpool captain said he felt “helpless” 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 team’s transformation under the German coach: “The 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.

“He 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.”

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/04/liverpool-jordan-henderson-heel-injury?

Liverpool’s 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 Liverpool’s season and that he will have to manage the pain for the foreseeable future.

The Liverpool captain made his first appearance under Jürgen 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.

Liverpool’s 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 Liverpool’s 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. Liverpool’s medical department has discounted the theory that Henderson’s gait is responsible, an issue aired in one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s books when explaining his doubts over signing the midfielder for Manchester United.

“It’s been incredibly difficult, not just for me but for the staff as well,” Henderson said. “With my metatarsal I knew exactly what kind of time scale I’d be out for but with my heel there isn’t a timescale, there isn’t really a cure. That’s been the most difficult part. It’s been hard but I’ve had good people around me like Chris Morgan [the head of physiotherapy] and all the staff here. There have been times when I’ve been pretty down because we couldn’t find the answers. Now I’m 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.”

Henderson’s 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: “I 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.”

Henderson felt “a burning, stabbing, nervy” 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 week’s substitute appearances at home to Swansea City and in the League Cup at Southampton.

He added: “It’s hard not to be aware of it because I’ve 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: ‘Is it back?’ 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.”

As for Ferguson’s suggestion the midfielder’s gait could cause injury problems later in his career, Henderson responded: “I don’t 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 doesn’t react too much and I can get back to the level I want to be at.”

The Liverpool captain said he felt “helpless” 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 team’s transformation under the German coach: “The 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.

“He 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.”

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/04/liverpool-jordan-henderson-heel-injury?

Jordan Henderson ‏@JHenderson  4h4 hours ago
It's feeling much better now but just need to be careful with it. Thanks for all your support!


 Jordan Henderson ‏@JHenderson  5h5 hours ago
I think the injury has been blown out of proportion. I won't be in pain the rest of my career, I just need to manage it for the time being..

Couple of tweets from Hendo seeming a little more encouraging. I think it was FL Red who suggested this injury might be the problem and has lived with it so he can probably give us the best insight into things. Hendo always likely to put a more positive spin on it just for his mental state so only time might tell on this one, fingers crossed for him.

I want to see this kid just grow into his job as Captain and I for one think he can do it. He has a big heart and that is the first thing you need to become a Liverpool Capt

Who'd have thought he would end up Liverpool captain a few years ago? Absolutely astonishing the progress he's made; a testament to his hard work and perseverance through hard times and in spite of all the critics. Well done to the lad!

Good luck with managing the heel problem.

Who'd have thought he would end up Liverpool captain a few years ago?

You act like there was some sort of unanimous vote for him to become captain.   He was named captain by Rodgers, a man who was unfit to manage the club.  If your boss promotes someone, does it mean necessarily that the person deserves a promotion?  maybe, maybe not.  It could mean the boss just likes the person for whatever reason, etc etc.

The fact that Henderson became captain says more about the lack of top leaders than it does about Henderson.  There is no correlation necessarily between being captain and contributing on the pitch in terms of actual football.  F**k's sake, look at Rooney, captain of the Mancs but he offers them absolutely nothing.  Would you say "Rooney must be amazing, he is their captain"?  of course not.

The real captain of the team is Sakho, we all know that, the players know that, Henderson as captain is just another remnant of the endless litany of fuckups caused by one Brendan Rodgers. 

The real captain of the team is Sakho, we all know that, the players know that,

Yeah... sure...

You act like there was some sort of unanimous vote for him to become captain.   He was named captain by Rodgers, a man who was unfit to manage the club.  If your boss promotes someone, does it mean necessarily that the person deserves a promotion?  maybe, maybe not.  It could mean the boss just likes the person for whatever reason, etc etc.

The fact that Henderson became captain says more about the lack of top leaders than it does about Henderson.  There is no correlation necessarily between being captain and contributing on the pitch in terms of actual football.  F**k's sake, look at Rooney, captain of the Mancs but he offers them absolutely nothing.  Would you say "Rooney must be amazing, he is their captain"?  of course not.

The real captain of the team is Sakho, we all know that, the players know that, Henderson as captain is just another remnant of the endless litany of fuckups caused by one Brendan Rodgers. 

True not every captain is a team's best player or even arguably the best captain, but to go from where he was just after he joined to even put himself in the reckoning for that is a mark of his progress.

The lad has worked incredibly hard to improve his game and has succeeded in becoming an important part of the team. It's not a bad quality to recognise when you're deciding who should be the captain of a young side aspiring to achieve great things.

Henderson has grown and improved his all round game and his influence when he is fully fit will be there for everyone to see he is the perfect Klopp players.

You act like there was some sort of unanimous vote for him to become captain.   He was named captain by Rodgers, a man who was unfit to manage the club.  If your boss promotes someone, does it mean necessarily that the person deserves a promotion?  maybe, maybe not.  It could mean the boss just likes the person for whatever reason, etc etc.

The fact that Henderson became captain says more about the lack of top leaders than it does about Henderson.  There is no correlation necessarily between being captain and contributing on the pitch in terms of actual football.  F**k's sake, look at Rooney, captain of the Mancs but he offers them absolutely nothing.  Would you say "Rooney must be amazing, he is their captain"?  of course not.

The real captain of the team is Sakho, we all know that, the players know that, Henderson as captain is just another remnant of the endless litany of fuckups caused by one Brendan Rodgers. 

And you act like nobody else in the club wanted him as captain. You seriously need to get over it, you're going on about this sh*t every other day nearly.

Milner should be captain.

Milner should be captain.

Milner should be captain.

wow you really do have some funny ideas.

Milner should be captain.

Mignolet!

Jordan needs to send James to the bench for an extended period.

Jordan needs to send James to the bench for an extended period.

Agree 100%.

Farce that James is a.) vice captain b.) walking in to the team every week

Milner should be captain.

I agree. Cabbage and peanut butter on toast.

Milner should be captain.

  another classic from Ribapuru

Seriously though the sooner he is up to speed the sooner Milner can be fu**ed off.

I agree. Cabbage and peanut butter on toast.

Exactly 

Milner should be captain.

So delighted to see him back in the starting line up of a PL game. Brings so much stability to our side. I think along with Coutinho, our most important player.

Back with a goal and an assist, not bad.

Milner should be captain.

Wait till federer sees this one...