Chelsea midfielder Marco van Ginkel’s injury has proven to be serious after confirmation that he has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. He will now miss the rest of the season after joining the club only a few months ago. The 20-year-old suffered the injury in the 2-0 win over Swindon Town in the Capital One Cup. It has been one of the horrible images I have seen in football, and straightaway it looked like a major injury.
Speaking to Skysports after the Swindon match, assistant coach Steve Holland said,
It wasn’t perfect because we’ve got an injury to Marco. It’s a little bit too early to be certain but it doesn’t look good.
The Guardian today confirmed that the player will miss the rest of the season. His aspirations of playing at the World Cup 2014 also appear to be over.
Warning: This image is not for the fainthearted
This is not the first time a Chelsea player has suffered an ACL injury. Michael Essien and Oriol Romeu are those who have had this injury in recent times. It is unmistakably one of the worst injuries that a player can suffer. You only have to look at Essien to know that it is incredibly tough to get back to those pre-injury levels.
Washington University School of Medicine’s orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Robert Brophy says that players who have suffered an ACL injury are more prone to having the same injury once again; Essien is once again a great example.
Let’s hope that Van Ginkel doesn’t face the same fate. Even though he has found game time limited at Stamford Bridge, he looked really promising during pre-season. The 20-year-old had so far featured in four matches for Chelsea in all competitions.
