One of the most horrible injuries to get as a football player is a meniscus tear. The meniscus is a cartilage within the knee joint that protects the whole knee from stress,m that may occur from walking, jumping, running, turning, etc. Tearing occurs due to extreme stress on the cartilage leading to it giving way, causing pain and extreme discomfort. These kinds of injuries are very common with footballers due to their high activity on the pitch, which involves running, jumping, sudden twists and turns, etc. Here are a few football players who have torn their meniscus.
1. Luis Suarez
The Uruguayan forward suffered this injury in the middle of May, a few weeks to the beginning of the 2014 World Cup tournament hosted by Brazil. Luis suffered the injury during the pre-World Cup camp organized by the Uruguayan national team. It was feared he will miss the whole tournament after undergoing surgery to repair the damaged part of the cartilage. Suarez, however, made a miraculous recovery in time for Uruguay’s second group match against England on June 19th, 2014. The forward scored in the 2-1 triumph over the Three Lions.
2. John Terry
The former England and Chelsea FC captain sustained this injury during a third-round FA Cup match against Portsmouth in January 2012. It was thought that the Blues defender will be out for at least 6 weeks, but Terry made a shocking return in just 2 weeks to captain his side in a league match against Stoke City.
3. Fernando Torres
The former Spanish international suffered the injury twice during the 2009/2010 season. The first occurred in January 2010, which took him five weeks to recover from. The second happened during a Europa League match against Benfica played on the 8th of April, the same year. Torres was in danger of missing the World Cup in South Africa after undergoing surgery again, but recovered in time, 8 weeks later to be part of the Spanish squad that won the World Cup.
4. Roberto Baggio
The Italian legend is also among the footballers who have had meniscus tears. He sustained the injury twice in his career. The first time occurred on the 28th of September, 1986, when he was playing for ACF Florentina, which kept him out for about 196 days. The second, which was less serious occurred on March 15, 1994, during his time with Juventus and kept him out for just roughly two weeks. Roberto Baggio was a Ballon d’or winner who never won the Champions League.
5. Ansu Fati
The young Barcelona forward suffered this injury in November 2020 in a Spanish La Liga match against Real Betis when he tore the meniscus of his left knee. He was successfully operated on soon after and expected to be out for about 4 months, but Ansu Fati is yet to make a return to full team action. He suffered a relapse and underwent another surgery in Portugal this May.
