News Article: Whitney re-aggravated foot injury

[I am the Liquor]

I saw this posted on Lowetide and thought it was interesting and worth posting here.............

Ashley said...
I speculated the posterior tibial tendon based on media comments, and I think that is the most likely.

A couple of notes: This is not an ankle fracture. A fracture heals more or less like new, depending on the associated ligament damage. 100% 3-4 months after an ankle fracture is a reasonable expectation (to use a Lowetidian phrase). A soft tissue injury is always more serious. Tendons and ligaments don't heal 100% and we cannot expect 100% from Whitney ever again. I would argue he hasn't been 100% since his days with PIT though, so I don't think it is unreasonable to hope that he returns to the player he was last year.

Whitney's feet are surgically altered and all of the soft tissues are adjusting to the altered biomechanics. The dislocated post tib was almost certainly related to his pes cavus repair as it likely left the retinaculum in which the tendon resides redundant (or it became redundant over time after the pes cavus repair). These types of repeated tendon issues are likely what Whitney will face for the rest of his playing career much like Forsberg. I think this is why such a high draft pick who demonstrated tremendous early success in the NHL has seen so many teams in his career. Everyone who owns him sees an asset diminishing in value.

As far as timelines, it is not unusual for the pain related to reconstructive foot surgery to take 12 months or longer to become manageable. Morning stiffness is a certainty for the rest of his life. Many never become pain free, but adjust their lifestyles to manage the pain. That may sound depressing, but feet are complex requiring fairly precise function to handle the stresses put on them by even a relative sedentary patient, not to mention a professional athlete and are uncomparable to musculoskeletal injuries in any other part of the body.

We'll have to wait and see what he can do on the ice. More difficult for him may be the psychological component. A professional hockey career takes a tremendous toll on their body. His feet have been bandaided and would probably do well for most of his life if he was Joe citizen, but may not stand up to the rigours of NHL duty. He probably realizes that this is a possibility, and may lack the confidence to be the kind of NHL player he has been in the past knowing he is just one ice rut away from more pain and and more surgery.

At the end of the day, he will have a long life as a retired NHL player, and consideration must be given to his need to ambulate with minimal use of aids before his elderly years. Being an NHL player is probably fun and of primary importance in his life right now, but as hard as it may be to believe, there are some things that are far more important. I hope he and his doctors are taking this very seriously.

[harpoon]

Originally Posted by I am the Liquor

I saw this posted on Lowetide and thought it was interesting and worth posting here.............

Definitely worth posting . In light of these comments by Tamby maybe you should email him the link too .

"Yeah we need Ryan and you know he went through the second foot procedure on the other foot um but um you know he's just going to have to get back into camp and get going and um just play . There will probably be at times maybe some discomfort but I don't think its going to be something that's going to stop him from playing .... um .... " (changes the topic to Barker)

[I am the Liquor]

Originally Posted by harpoon

Definitely worth posting . In light of these comments by Tamby maybe you should email him the link too .

"Yeah we need Ryan and you know he went through the second foot procedure on the other foot um but um you know he's just going to have to get back into camp and get going and um just play . There will probably be at times maybe some discomfort but I don't think its going to be something that's going to stop him from playing .... um .... " (changes the topic to Barker)

Ya, well, I have no confidence in how our organization handles injuries anymore. Tambellini has demonstrated he is out of his depth in many facets of his job. The less he says, the better.

If we didnt unload Fraser onto the Kings we would be talking about how he isnt ready for camp as well. Although we probably wouldve waited much longer to do the surgery, if we even did it at all. Perhaps they would have just expected him to play through it?

This Fraser-Whitneygate kind of puts Souray's allegations in a whole new light.

[Alawishis]

Originally Posted by harpoon

What tempered remarks are these that you speak of ? You are correct that this was already discussed , but the quotes I heard from Tamby and Renney were more of the "lets blow some smoke up Joe Fan's ass" variety .

If you recall a lot of people were speculating that perhaps Whitney's foot did not heal properly, or not as expected, based on a Tambellini interview and the way he reacted to questions about his return.

(edit)
Yeah if you scroll up a few posts, Harpoon has part of the gist of the quotation. Not sure if it's a direct quote or paraphrased but that's the thrust of it.

[harpoon]

Originally Posted by Alawishis

If you recall a lot of people were speculating that perhaps Whitney's foot did not heal properly, or not as expected, based on a Tambellini interview and the way he reacted to questions about his return.

(edit)
Yeah if you scroll up a few posts, Harpoon has part of the gist of the quotation. Not sure if it's a direct quote or paraphrased but that's the thrust of it.

I am Harpoon . Same guy .

And yeah , those are direct quotes from Tamby on Tencer's show . That was the sum of his comments on Whitney's injury , not just the "gist" . I can't believe you think those qualify as "tempered" . To me they look like the comments of a guy who expects Whitney to play through the pain .

As Liquor stated above kinda makes you wonder about the Souray situation .