Injury ‘crisis’ just wide of the mark
IT’S an injury that has robbed the f ootball Championship of two iconic players but suggestions that cruciate knee ligament concerns are spiralling out of control appear wide of the mark.
Dublin’s Ciarán Kilkenny is still coming to terms with confirmation that his season is over following Saturday’s collision with a Kildare defender which led to the dreaded knee injury.
The Castleknock youngster is set to undergo corrective surgery in three weeks’ time with renowned knee surgeon Ray Moran scheduled to complete the operation.
He is the second Dublin player in a matter of just weeks to suffer the season- ending injury, along with Kevin O’Brien, while Colm Cooper’s similar setback has been widely documented.
The trio join a stable of star names including Henry Shefflin, Dermot Earley, Paddy Bradley and Colm O’Neill to have suffered cruciate ligament damage in recent seasons. But while talk of a cruciate crisis is widespread, there is no obvious evidence to back it up.
Sinead Quinn, the GAA’s Risk and Insurance manager, said that while it is impossible to be certain about the specific amount of cruciate injuries — as current figures relate to knee injuries generally — the indications are of a similar amount year on year.
Just over 6,000 claims were made against the GAA’s player injury scheme last year with around 1,700 of those relating to knee injuries. Both figures are in line with previous years.
The more significant question is perhaps why such a large amount of cruciate injuries continue to occur, robbing the game of key players at all levels each season.
Various potential explanations have been put forward from the firmness of modern GAA pitches to the type of studs used on players’ boots. Neither have been proven correct.
Quinn’s personal opinion is that the issue relates to core flexibility.
Put simply, if the core of the body was conditioned better and properly utilised, then heavy impacts and intensive stretches and movements wouldn’t put such strain on lower joints like knees.
It’s understood that significant research in this area is already underway with GAA players nationwide keen for any guidance.
Statistics show that the problem is primarily associated with the adult playing base though not exclusive to them.
Sportsmail understands that one high profile inter- county family have been ravaged by cruciate trouble with a father, both sons and a son-in-law all suffering the same injury at different stages.
The financial cost of a cruciate knee ligament injury is between €4,000 and €7,000, depending on where the surgery takes place.
The maximum pay- out by the GAA’s insurance scheme on any injury is €4,500 while a further €1,500 is provided by the Gaelic Players Association f or their members.
Dublin GAA chairman Andy Kettle stressed that there are no financial issues regarding the treatment of Kilkenny and O’Brien.
‘There’s no question but that they will be looked after and looked after very well,’ said Kettle. ‘And Ray Moran is the best in the business.’
Kettle revealed his surprise that Kilkenny’s awkward impact at Croke Park last Saturday evening has led to such a devastating injury.
‘It was a totally innocuous thing,’ he said. ‘Yes, there’s a bit of contact but not so much that you’d expect anything like the outcome that materialised.
‘It’s extremely bad news, particularly for Ciaran himself. Everything seemed to be setting up so nicely for him.’