Arsenal remain secretive over Welbeck injury. Danny Welbeck has had a second operation on his injured right ankle and Arsenal are unable to reveal how long the player may be out of action. If you look at these two pieces of information, it’s safe to conclude that the injury is even more serious than anyone imagined.
Danny Welbeck has undergone a second planned operation on his right ankle. Both procedures went well, without complications according to the club.
Speedy recovery, Welbz. pic.twitter.com/BNyuW589zI
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) November 13, 2018
Welbeck fell awkwardly attempting to connect with a cross, against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa league. From the pictures released during and after the match, it appeared as if Welbeck has suffered a fracture or double fracture and there are also concerns that there are additional complications regarding ruptured tendons or ligaments.
Anyone expecting Welbeck to come back anytime soon may kwell be considered delusional. Welbeck will miss the rest of this season for sure and depending on how the ankle recovers, it may be even longer.It’s safe to also assume that the damage could also have merited surgical pins for Welbeck because of the extent of the injury.
Surgical intervention is necessary in severe acute injuries where there is tibio-fibular diastasis. Screw fixation has traditionally been utilized with most physicians advocating screw removal between 7 and 12 week post operative. Non-absorbable suture-button fixation devices have more recently emerged as a fixation technique. They have the advantage of obviating hardware removal and can allow earlier weight-bearing.
Chronic syndesmotic injuries can be treated with screw fixation, arthrodesis and arthroscopic debridement. While there are no papers specifically assessing outcomes in an athletic populations, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis reported screw fixation as the most successful treatment option.
Then there is the probable damage to the ankle ligaments and after doing more research, it appears there are two types of operations performed to restore the tissue :
- Damaged ligaments are tightened up and re-attached to the bone – often known as the Brostrum procedure. This is suitable when the instability is not too severe. Its main advantage is that it causes less stiffness than the other type of repair, as it aims to achieve an anatomical repair of the ligaments.
- Another piece of tissue, usually part of one of the nearby tendons, is borrowed and stitched between the bones where the ligaments should be. This is suitable when the instability is severe or you may put severe stresses on the repair. It is very strong but often causes quite a lot of stiffness in the ankle afterwards.
Even after the physical side of things has reached a satisfactory conclusion, both Arsenal and Welbeck will have to look for signs of ankle instability. The foot could suffer from swelling once Webeck returns to training and it may require a long period of monitored recovery to prevent further injury, which paints a very pessimistic picture.
Question of the day: Danny Welbeck's contract expires at the end of the season. If Welbeck is out for the season, which is looking likely, should we offer him a contract extension, or should we let him leave? Genuinely interested to know what you lot think.
— Sash ~ (@ltarsenal) November 13, 2018
Arsenal’s reluctance to reveal the extent of Welbeck’s injury means that speculation will increase until they or the player sets the record straight. At this moment in time it would appear that Welbeck may not even be available for the opening game of the season.
One could consider this just as bad as Cazorla’s Achilles injury which saw the Spaniard sidelined for the rest of his Arsenal career until he was eventually sold. Let’s hope Welbeck has a swift recovery, although I suspect it may signal a similar end.