Theo Walcott Offers Positive Injury Update

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has been speaking to Arsenal.com and has offered a positive update on his long road back from a serious knee injury.

Walcott ruptured the anteriour cruciate ligament of his left knee after an innocuous clash during the final stages of our 2-0 FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur back on January 4.

The cruel blow ruled the 24-year-old out for at least six months. It meant he’d not only miss the rest of the Premier League campaign – denying him the opportunity to try and help Arsenal win the title – but it also meant he’d miss this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

That’s a blow to any player but a particular disappointment for Theo as he’ll now have to wait until he’s 28 before potentially playing at a World Cup. There were some surgical procedures that would have given him a chance of making Brazil, but Theo insists he wants to have a long career ahead of him and not put that in jeopardy by thinking short-term.

He told the clubs website:

“I know this will make me into a better person, a stronger person,” he said. “I don’t want to look at [what happens in] six months time, I want to look at 10 to 15 years when I’m still playing.

“I don’t want to push the injury [now] and not be 100 per cent and then cause other injuries. My main concern is to take things week by week and try not to put a timespan on it.

It’s certainly a mature decision from Theo to put his long-term career first. After his previous World Cup woes, you’d have forgiven him if he’d chosen to do all he could to push himself to make the World Cup. Radamel Falcao suffered a similar injury to Theo last month and he’s chosen to undergo a different type of surgery to give him the best chance of making the World Cup, which is fair enough as he’s 28 and this could be his last chance, but Theo still has a long career ahead of him so it’s a sensible call from him.

The forward went on to give an update on his rehabilitation and thankfully he came out of his brace and got rid of his crutches on Tuesday, and he’s now starting to walk freely again.He continued:

“I came out of the brace on Tuesday and the crutches are gone, so I am starting to get the walking movement back now. It is amazing because you tend to forget how to walk, it is a bit crazy! It is the only time people will be able to beat me for walking or running!

“It was a nice moment [to come out of the brace]. When you go to the consultant you don’t know what to expect as this is all new to me, but it was great news. The last two days have been good days, I have been walking a bit easier. It’s nearly there now.

“There are always people worse off than you and there’s no point being negative about it. You want to be positive coming in every day, because the time will go quicker.”

It’s great to hear he’s out of his knee brace and it’s also reported that he’s started doing some work on the exercise bike and walking in water. While Theo wont set a comeback date, the Guardian newspaper claims that doctors are hopeful he’ll be back in the early part of next season.

Obviously it’s going to be a long road to recovery for Theo but he’s going to have to take it one step at a time, and hopefully he’ll come back stronger than ever next season.