Vivianne Miedema understood this immediately. He can forget the World Cup next summer in Australia and New Zealand. Orange’s top forward has been away for months due to a cruciate ligament tear.
“You really have to take that into account,” says NOS analyst Leonne Stents. “If he could do that, it would be a bit of a Memphis Depay miracle. But I don’t really think it’s possible. In general, such an injury will not save the World Cup.”
December 15
The average recovery time after cruciate ligament rupture is six to nine months. So trying to get to the World Cup seems crazy. But Memphis was well on its way to showing that it wasn’t entirely impossible two years ago.
On December 15, 2019, Memphis tore his cruciate ligament. With the most famous doctors and rehabilitation specialists, the striker did everything to reach the 2020 European Championship. Former national coach Ronald Koeman was confident that the striker would get in shape on time, but due to the coronavirus, the European Championship was postponed for a year and Memphis was able to concentrate on his return for the new season.
Miedema was injured on December 15 this year, exactly the same day as Memphis three years ago. On July 23 next year, the Orange team will play their first World Cup match in Australia and New Zealand. A little over seven months later.
“But the protocol says you have a good recovery for nine months, or rather, a little longer,” says experience specialist Stents. He missed a World Cup due to a cruciate ligament tear and was forced to retire in 2015 at the age of 29 due to permanent injuries. “If you start too early, you have a pretty good chance of tearing your cruciate ligament again. You have to be very careful there.”
Miedema, 26, is already Orange’s all-time top scorer with 96 goals. That’s why Stents says the lack of a top striker in Australia and New Zealand is a “huge loss”. “You saw that at the European Championship last summer, where they missed matches against Switzerland and Portugal due to the corona.”
Irreplaceable and incomparable
“There are other players who can replace him, but he is not as good as Miedema. When in form, it is irreplaceable and incomparable.”
According to Stents, that doesn’t mean the orange doesn’t stand a chance at the World Cup. “It is easier to score goals with Miedema and the opponent will always be considerate of them. But you don’t always have to have the best selection to win a tournament.”
“It’s too raw for Vivianne,” Stents says. “He spoke out against the busy schedule of women’s football a few weeks ago and now he’s the victim.”
Miedema can complete her rehabilitation along with her partner and teammate Beth Mead. Arsenal and England’s striker also suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the end of November.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
