Ansu’s recovery has now taken much more time than it was initially expected but the player is willing to exhaust all options before being operated on for the third time, even if that means undergoing regular punctures in his left knee.
After his recent trip to Lyon to consult with the French trauma surgeon specialist in knees, Bertrand Cottet; Ansu Fati already knows first-hand, the real situation of the state of his internal meniscus: the suture has not healed correctly, nor in the first or the second arthroscopy, with the added problem that an infection has worsened the condition of the knee.
Ansu was injured last November in the match against Betis and hasn’t still been able to make his way back to the pitch. He had an impressive start to the season, scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists in all competitions for the Blaugrana. His recovery process has already taken much more time than it was initially expected.
According to AS’ Javi Miguel, the French specialist has recommended him to go through the operating room again to undergo a meniscectomy, that is, the removal of the damaged meniscus, which would allow him to return to the pitch in a period of six to seven weeks, thus opening up the possibility of playing the Euro Cup and even the Olympic Games. With the internal meniscus removed, recovery would accelerate by leaps and bounds with little risk of complications. Of course, this obvious shortcut would imply possible long-term consequences that Fati and his environment are evaluating very seriously right now.
Playing without the meniscus for many years can end up degenerating into osteoarthritis or a serious joint problem, which could seriously jeopardize the player’s sports career. We are talking about a period between eight to ten years after the removal of the meniscus, but in the case of Fati, being an 18-year-old player, he would still be in the prime of his career. Hence, the prevention and control work, in the event that the meniscus is removed, would have to be for the entire professional career, in order to minimize joint wear.
Aware of this threat, Fati wants to exhaust his last options to avoid the operation. He has put himself in the hands of the FC Barcelona medical services in a last ‘attempt’ to solve his problems in his left knee. According to the same report, the player has agreed to undergo arthrocentesis therapy for the next two weeks, counting from this Thursday, which basically consists of corticosteroid injections in order to reduce pain and inflammation of the knee, in addition to a series of punctures to extract the synovial fluid from the effusion. To these infiltrations, a greater workload is being added to see the response of the knee. The final assessment regarding this last shock therapy will be made in about ten days.
At the club they are certainly pessimistic, although they do not completely close the doors to a ‘miracle’, but right now the general opinion is that the best solution to Fati’s knee problems is the definitive removal of the meniscus. And from here, a prevention work throughout his career to prevent the absence of the internal meniscus from ending up leading to a chronic degenerative injury.
