Holden's Knee's gone again!!! Bolton V Everton (Development squad)

Not actually that bad then, could be back within 3-4 weeks.

Nixon says a long time

Must be some strain then.

If Nixon says the sun comes up in the morning I'd confirm it by getting up before dawn to watch it happen with my own eyes before I accepted it. Has any RELIABLE source made a statement about a prognosis?

He was given an all clear on that knee by BWFC crack doctor.....Sir Gareth Megson MD.....20 minutes and out.
Shame but I feel that's that.

So is there a reliable and accurate prognosis anywhere?

wanderlust wrote:So is there a reliable and accurate prognosis anywhere?

Not that I've seen. One thing that worries me is Stu himself hasn't posted anything on Twitter about this yet. Could be he's just too busy or the club has asked him not to but I fear it maybe because he's too distressed by whatever news he got.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:

wanderlust wrote:So is there a reliable and accurate prognosis anywhere?

Not that I've seen. One thing that worries me is Stu himself hasn't posted anything on Twitter about this yet. Could be he's just too busy or the club has asked him not to but I fear it maybe because he's too distressed by whatever news he got.

Wasn't it reported that he went back to the States to see the surgeon who operated on him? Even if the guy was able to give him an appointment first thing Monday morning, I'd be very surprised if he committed to a detailed prognosis without eliminating pain associated with e.g. swelling which could take a few days to go down. Maybe he told Stu that he'd have to wait a few days before anything definite can be said about it and therefore Stu is keeping quiet until he gets a definitive answer - which would be the smart thing to do.

wanderlust wrote:

luckyPeterpiper wrote:

wanderlust wrote:So is there a reliable and accurate prognosis anywhere?

Not that I've seen. One thing that worries me is Stu himself hasn't posted anything on Twitter about this yet. Could be he's just too busy or the club has asked him not to but I fear it maybe because he's too distressed by whatever news he got.

Wasn't it reported that he went back to the States to see the surgeon who operated on him? Even if the guy was able to give him an appointment first thing Monday morning, I'd be very surprised if he committed to a detailed prognosis without eliminating pain associated with e.g. swelling which could take a few days to go down. Maybe he told Stu that he'd have to wait a few days before anything definite can be said about it and therefore Stu is keeping quiet until he gets a definitive answer - which would be the smart thing to do.

That's a good point lusty. I bet he DID get in straight away as he'll be a private patient (treatment funded by insurance from USA FA or by ours) but of course it might take time for test results to come back assuming any could be performed immediately. I should have thought of that myself.

IMO, I think the club fear the worst on Holden's knee and that is probably why Holden is heading back to the States, to visit the specialist who operated on him. I'd imagine the club would have an idea, if maybe it was a minor strain, or something similar, but I fear the worst for Holden.

Thing is, if they did everything possible to ensure he'd be OK to start playing again, what more could they do to prevent it happening again? The only circumstance I can think of whereby it wouldn't be an issue if it turns out to be a a strain that could happen to any player at any time i.e. just coincidence/bad luck.
The club is right to be worried. That said Stu has had more than his fair share of bad luck so maybe this is just more of the same rather than a career ending final straw.

wanderlust wrote:Thing is, if they did everything possible to ensure he'd be OK to start playing again, what more could they do to prevent it happening again? The only circumstance I can think of whereby it wouldn't be an issue if it turns out to be a a strain that could happen to any player at any time i.e. just coincidence/bad luck.
The club is right to be worried. That said Stu has had more than his fair share of bad luck so maybe this is just more of the same rather than a career ending final straw.

I hope you're right. 

Personally I think what might have happened is Stuart told the club he felt great, he felt ready for a return but was exaggerating a little because as we know he's keen to play to begin with and there's a World Cup in a few months which he would love to appear in for USA. Sometimes an injury can look completely healed even to the best scanning techniques and he could have figured that as it wasn't much more than a run out he should be alright and playing some actual football might help his conditioning not hinder it. He may have felt a few twinges but assumed he'd run them off but been wrong. 

For all the testing and therapy techniques footballers have today nothing simulates a real match with total accuracy yet. Stuart may have taken what he saw as a calculated risk in order to further his chances of both making the USA squad AND winning himself another contract here. We all know how keen he is to play and it wouldn't be a complete surprise to me if he managed to convince himself he felt better than he actually was. A lot of physio and therapy does involve asking the patient how he feels and assuming he's telling the truth. I'm not saying Stuart lied on purpose at all, he may have simply believed he was ready because he desperately wanted to be.

Possibly. He certainly would like to get back into contention for the national team. But he's rushed back before so it would be pretty stupid to do it again.

wanderlust wrote:Possibly. He certainly would like to get back into contention for the national team. But he's rushed back before so it would be pretty stupid to do it again.

I agree but we all know what Stuart is like. I credit him for enthusiasm and like the fact he's so keen to play but sometimes he hasn't helped himself. I hope it's a case of that here if only because the alternative could be his career being over full stop never mind his time with us.