Medical expert: Andros Townsend may miss whole of next season after Everton latest
Everton star Andros Townsend’s anterior cruciate ligament may not fully heal until after the 2022-23 campaign.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Townsend, 30, had reconstructive surgery after he ruptured his ACL in March this year.
As quoted by Liverpool World last Tuesday (28 June), the winger optimistically claimed that he is “either halfway or a third of the way through” his recovery.
Dinnery claims that a return around the festive period is more likely and that Townsend may in fact not return to pre-injury levels until after the 2022-23 campaign.
“With return to play within the nine-month period, you are at an elevated risk of recurrence, either to that knee of another knee,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Every month beyond that, the chances of suffering a recurrence reduce by about 51 per cent.
“After the process of reconstructive surgery, you goes through a process of ligamentization. That is not something that happens within the six to nine-month period. It usually takes between 12 to 18 months
“With returning players, it isn’t necessarily the first season back that we’re focused on. It’s the second where we see them hit pre-injury levels.
“We have seen players return in that six to seven month period. But there has almost been a swing to let players take a little bit longer, maybe nine to 10 months.
“That way, you don’t put any unnecessary pressure on them and allow nature to take its course. Any return this year for Townsend is a bonus, after all.
“I think we’re looking after that winter break, maybe early 2023. But, we’ll see. Cases are always decided on an individual basis. There are always risks with returning to play early.
“Townsend will be doing all the right things. He has proved himself a real professional over the years.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire claims rivals “pointing the finger” at Everton as FFP deadline missed.