Hector Bellerin: The B's Knee

[CaseUteinberger]

I've torn my ACL twice so I always cringe when I see these images. Wont look at it but gutted we're losing an important player for more than the rest of the season. Get Wan-Bissaka in!

Think that is what happens once your own knees have turned to s**t. Have torn ACL in both knees plus patellar tendon in one once I got older. Tearing the quad tendon is quite unusual I believe. Even the patellar tendon normally doesn't tear unless you are older or there is huge trauma force on the knee.

 

[Mrs Bergkamp]

The cynic in me wants us to renew his contract in the summer with a small pay bump of 20-25k. Now is too early but in the summer he should be well on the mend and in a good frame of mind.

An often overlooked part of our contract renewal failures is that plenty of our players spend numerous time on the shelf. We all complained about how Ox only had a year left on his contract but who here wouldn't have complained if the club renewed his deal earlier while Ox had one of the knee injuries that kept him out for 3-4 months at a time?

Similar story with Van Persie. The guy was out injured every other month visiting witch doctors and having horse placenta rubbed on his legs.
I understand why clubs are reluctant to negotiate with a player who has suffered a bad injury but it seems like a good time to me. The player has no guarantee that they will return to a similar level and a contract renewal grants him some security and peace of mind.

All of that aside, I wish Hector has a speedy and full recovery.

Totally agree with you. I was reluctant to renew all of RvP, Ox,Theo,Jack and Ramsey because of their injuries. Bellerin hasn't had an injury record anything like these players so far and the summer is the right time to talk business.

 

[El Duderino]

No way you could expect to get in a right back in January (especially with our budget) that comes in and replaces Bellerin straight away

Nacho was brought in January.

Along with Auba was he our best Jan purchase in recent memory?

 

[protocal354]

I am gutted for Hector! And I am certain he will come back stronger than before. With regards to a replacement, we do have another Spaniard capable of playing at right back. Julio Pleguezelo! Is a mainstay and experienced player in our reserves. Has also captained our young gunners on numerous occasions. I hope he is given a chance. He also plays centre back and defensive midfield. I would hope he has the tactical awareness to play the right passes and make correct decisions as he has experience in all 3 of these positions. Coupled together with AMN, Lich & Jenks I'm sure that is enough cover there to get us through the rest of our campaign. If unsuccessful we can evaluate the options in signing a potential new RB.

 

[gunner4lyfe]

Any RBs available? Cash plus Jenkinson for anyone better thank Lich?

 

[hope1]

So gutted for hector

Its always us

 

[Let's play Aubamawang]

How long is ACL recovery time if the good news takes 9 months?! wtf!

He is my MOTM.
He is so pivotal to the way emery wants to play - play from the back...
He made all the right decisions today, his passing/dribbling was the reason Chelsea couldnt press us, as if all he did during his injury was studying how to play from the back.
Im absolutely gutted.

Get well soon Hector

A pro athlete can easily be out for a year with an ACL injury. Very common in NFL. It is essentially a load bearing ligament, attaching the thigh to the knee joint.

That being said, the quad is a bad one to rupture too. It helps to straighten your leg so it is potentially disabling but with rehab he should be ok.

 

[TheIceman85]

You guys are forgetting that he’s vegan, so his recovery time will be much shorter than a normal player.

 

[DanDare]

You guys are forgetting that he’s vegan, so his recovery time will be much shorter than a normal player.

Exactly

 

[HollandGooner]

this is a big blow wish him all the best

 

[bingobob]

9 months. We need a replacement this window.

 

[Ricardinho]

9 months. We need a replacement this window.

Two already on the books, 3 if you include AMN, so I think it's unlikely we see any business there this month even if were agreed they're not upto scratch. Was suggested in the match thread that maybe mustafi gets tried there which might just work.

 

[TromsoGooner]

Nacho was brought in January.

Along with Auba was he our best Jan purchase in recent memory?

He was but Nacho was not very good when he arrived or the season after for that matter. It took a good while before he established himself as a very good left back. The fact that Gibbs kept him out of the team for a while at the beginning says it all really.

 

[Manberg]

It's not all bad news. At least we'll get to see more of his supreme fashion sense from the stands.

 

[Mitch]

Karma for the Hitler tash.

 

[WilshereGone]

We will feel his absence, might even cost us top 4. His value to the team is criminally underrated by some of our fans.

 

[squallman]

We will feel his absence, might even cost us top 4. His value to the team is criminally underrated by some of our fans.

Yup especially because we don't have any competent replacements for him. Its scenarios like this that make me hate our "That'll do for the season" mentality when it comes to squad building. Its like the club and fans go "Well, we don't have X,Y and Z but if everyone stays fit it shouldn't be a problem"

The problem is, no one ever stays fit at this club for the entire season. I wish we were like Chelsea where it felt like Terry, Lampard, Drogba and Cole played 38 league games a season every season but this is Arsenal where we'll be lucky if our spine plays 15 matches together let alone 30.

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

****. I hope Bellerin gets well soon and we also have no decent replacement.

 

[Mrs Bergkamp]

Yup especially because we don't have any competent replacements for him. Its scenarios like this that make me hate our "That'll do for the season" mentality when it comes to squad building. Its like the club and fans go "Well, we don't have X,Y and Z but if everyone stays fit it shouldn't be a problem"

The problem is, no one ever stays fit at this club for the entire season. I wish we were like Chelsea where it felt like Terry, Lampard, Drogba and Cole played 38 league games a season every season but this is Arsenal where we'll be lucky if our spine plays 15 matches together let alone 30.

You're spot on about the effect of a spine not missing many matches and more players need the durability of Xhaka for us to play a settled team. I read a while back that Henry was fit for 79% of matches. That study compared him to the our British core and found Ramsey came tops with 49% availability! We've been hellishly unlucky with injuries for ages and with our make do and mend attitude, we just can't compete.

 

[Jalal]

Bellerin out for almost a year. Welbeck out for almost a year. Koscielny was out for almost a year.
WTF are these arsenal players doing for their protection or how weak can their bodies be that they injure themselves so badly. It's intangible that we have lost 3 players for almost a year! Wtf is wrong!