Early December 2008 - Diagnosis

Unconvinced by the NHS diagnosis, I booked an appointment with a private physio I had used before and trusted (Regan at Balance Physiotherapy in Clapham). It was back to square one – a wincing and concerned expression on her face at the abnormal shape and colour of my ankle, a reaction I was now familiar with. After a thorough assessment, she asked me to run barefoot across the gym, an experiment which lasted two steps. I was in agony. She suspected tendon and ligament damage, and potentially an internal fracture, and referred me to a specialist at the London Foot & Ankle Centre.

Finally, two days before Christmas 2008, I saw the specialist at LFAC. Within minutes and using a simple test, he diagnosed a sublaxed peroneal tendon. An x-ray and MRI scan confirmed it – there was damage to the peroneal tendon which runs on the outside of the ankle; the ‘belt’ of ligament holding it in place (the retinaculum) was ruptured; and the lateral ankle ligaments needed reconstruction. The medial ligaments were also damaged at their anchor points to the bone. The surgeon explained that I needed an operation that would open up the outside of my ankle to make the necessary repairs. This will mean two weeks in plaster, four to six weeks in an aircast boot, a return to running after 3 months and if all goes well, playing football again in six months – August 2009! There is a standard 5% chance that I won’t be able to play sport again, but I prefer not to think about that. I couldn’t believe one tackle had done so much damage! I had put in what Big Ron would call “a trademark reducer”..... on myself.