In news that isn’t that surprising, the Evening Standard reports that Hector Bellerin will sit out the start of the 2019/20 campaign as he continues his rehabilitation from ACL surgery.
After sustaining an injury during January’s 2-0 win over Chelsea, the Spaniard went under the knife and was ruled out for between six to nine months. That timeline had him pencilled in for a return between July and the end of September. As things stand it’s looking likely to be nearer the latter.
Last season, Hector’s absence at right-back was covered by Stephan Lichtsteiner, Carl Jenkinson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. You’d expect Unai Emery to lean on the latter once again what with the Swiss leaving and the Corporal likely to do the same.
There was talk of Arsenal spending big money on PSG’s Belgian Thomas Meunier but that seems unlikely given our limited transfer budget. Academy prospect Jordi Osei-Tutu is another potential option depending on how he gets on during pre-season and whether or not he’s sent out on loan.
There is no suggestion that Hector has suffered a setback in his recovery, so we’ll just wish him all the best over the next couple of months. Unlike most of the squad who will be on their hols, he’ll be putting in some hard yards in the gym this summer.
Now that this news is public I am looking forward to being linked with every available right back in the world starting now. Expect all the lazy ITKs to stop talking about anything else if it hasn’t to do with a back up for Hector.
So predictable.
So its like..Phil – You can’t hurry Love. What I thought.
Maybe I’m just plain stupid but maybe vegan diet is not ideal for a top sportman. Not because of the injury, but I think he lost some speed too.
He’s likely taking a shitload of supplements
It’s true that on vegan diet you need to pay more attention to what you eat to get all the needed nutrients. But when done right (and I’m sure Hector is being being evaluated thoroughly regarding it) it can be very good for you. Putting this injury on vegan diet is same as putting other footballers’ injuries on eating meat.
I disagree, protein especially meat makes and repairs muscles. I eat very little meat and only chicken but athletes cannot afford this. A good for bad situation for me.
There are no complete proteins (containing all amino acids) in plants but by combining different plants you can get all amino acids and have most of the perks of animal protein. There are differences (like how plant based protein still works a bit differently in the body) and I’m nowhere near smart enough to explain all the facets of it. But saying “athletes cannot afford this” is just incorrect. I have no problem with eating meat and to be fair I don’t think football blog is the correct place for this discussion as people don’t come here for that. It… Read more »
I was pleasantly enjoying your input until I read the narrowness of your last paragraph. I enjoy Arseblog because it is a clever and eclectic place, where people can express themselves freely ( as long as it stays civil). I’ve learnt And came cross many different thing to enlarge my horizon ( including your bit on amino acids combination). And all this because we share the passion of football and the Love for one club.
Did you know…..
Spirulina (55-65% protein) contains all essential amino acids in the same proportion found in human breast milk (as opposed to any other breast milk).
It is an algae, which you’ll find in most blue/green looking juices/ smoothies. Albeit in minuscule amounts.
I actually agree with you in many ways. Especially when it’s fun things (like apparently “It is illegal in the UK to be drunk in charge of a cow”. Thanks QI!). But when it’s things like politics, religion etc (and I would put veganism close to that bracket) where most people have made up their mind already before the conversation starts then it tends to turns into a pissing match that divides user base. And as we’re all here for our love for the club then I’d prefer to have 1 place in internet that unifies us. But I totally… Read more »
It’s interesting and sad to see nutrition as a sensitive topic like politics and religion. This is plain stupidity too. Calm down, eat what you like, talk about it and share your experience.
There’s no need to call it stupidity. That’s unnecessarily hostile.
Flowers, I think what we might be seeing here though is that folks might be more open to honest discussion of veganism (some anyway) than might have been expected.
Vegan based crowd? Im considering turning Vegan myself for ethical reasons. However the loss of the benefits in terms of performance are neither proven or disproven neither are the long terms effects on health. Thousands of years, men have been omnivorous, extra proteins leading to the development of our brains. Anyway I’m losing myself, I prioritise the planet and seeing Trump I think meat make us regress intellectually. Sorry about the fluffing. Get well soon Bellerin man.
Why do i keep seeing anti Trump posts on this forum…Honestly stick to football please its nauseating…
Maybe because a significant number of people consider that Trump, despite taking some prudent cosmetic advice from The Flaming Lips (I presume he bathes in tangerine juice to keep that real orange look) really is the dumbest crotch-fondling slab of rancid meatloaf ever to take office in your fine fine nation.
But hey, we voted Brexit so people with black kettles shouldn’t throw the first stone. Or something.
Outstanding!
Making fun of peoples looks isnt nice or right…Brexit has nothing to do with the USA…just stop.
Really? Dumber the Bush – creator of Iraq war and WMD lies, resulting in death of a million iraqis and thousands of Americans? Stop bringing this shit into a football forum, and read history book.
I know. I normally wouldn’t… but the question was just hanging there like a piece of low hanging goat, tender and juicy ready to tempt the nearest troll.
There is no evidence that being vegan affects any athletes fitness or speed
Ehhhh there’s thousands of studies linking protein to muscle mass
But maybe athletes don’t need muscles idk
And protein is exclusively available from meat, right?
yeah cause only meat contains protein..
Plenty of protein sources outside of meat
Can be quite tasty too ?
I would reccomend you to quickly google ‘vegan body builders’. There’s no shortage of muscle mass there I can assure you.
Or testosterone injections.
Patrik Baboumain, Frank Medrano.
Two vegans – two ends of the scale.
I’m with Truj, and I’ve mentioned it before also. Vegan diet is not beneficial and very likely detrimental to a top sportsman / athlete. Putting complete protein aside, it’s completely devoid of all fat soluble vitamins A, D, K2 and E. Supplement all you like, it isn’t bioavailable food, just synthetically made chemicals in a lab. Watched Hector eating hash brown rolls with baked beans during a rehab video, hardly optimal nutrition.
Rubbish.
Well unless the video showed you the dozens of supplements, protein shakes and bars, and vitamins these players all take, I’d say one anecdotal comment on one part of one meal probably does not tell the story.
If malnourishnent is your thing then go vegan & never get any fat soluble vitamins again. No vitamin A, E, D3 or K2, and synthetic supplements can’t replace bioavailable food . Hector was eating hash browns with bread rolls and beans during a recent rehab video, hardly optimal nutrition.
More rubbish
I don’t think you’re stupid, but like others, e.g. Wengerballz and Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia, a little self-education wouldn’t go astray.
It’s an ACL anyway.
Just shove a spoon of marmite on it you’ll be alright
We should move for Max Aarons at Norwich, competition for Bellerin, and someone to take the burden off him whilst he recovers from injury should be a priority.
Lichtstiner gone, Jenks hopefully to follow, there’s a clear gap in our squad to fill.
If it’s rb and not rwb cover then surely playing the corporal as a short term measure in his natural position is better than exposing AMNs lack of natural defensive nous and further knocking his confidence. It’s not ideal, but Jenkinson can still do a job and we know he will play with his heart on his sleeve. He certainly isn’t any worse than Lichstiener was last season.
Just get it right the first time, nothing else matters
Only 65% of players still play at the top level three years after an ACL apparently. Something to keep in mind I suppose.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2B_xtGXgAg64cd.jpg
More if anyone’s interested. I can’t find the original tweet I stole them from. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2B_zamX4AAinyR.jpg
hope this doesn’t count as spam: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2B_yinXcAITX79.jpg
I’d suggest this is likely skewed massively given that you’re far more likely to sustain an ACL injury if you’re older. Based on nothing but logic you’d imagine a large majority of those who suffer the injury are approaching/ beyond the 30 mark.
I genuinely don’t know when a player is more likely to suffer an ACL injury. I’d be interested to see a breakdown by age, and also wonder whether a player has a better long-term outlook now than in 2001 because of advances in imaging/treatment/rehab. Would assume there’s a whole spectrum of ages in the study, otherwise, as you say, that three-year timescale is a bit obsolete.
I remember that a cruciate injury used to be career-defining. Players would typically return having lost a significant degree of speed and mobility.
Rehab / treatment seems to have improved outcomes of late, but it’s far from a trivial concern (e.g. I remember Walcott was threatening to blossom into a top quality inside forward / CF before his injury, and was never quite the same on his return).
I seen a study where footballers were covering over 31% more ground in 2014 than they were in 2004. Originally I though it would be to do with supplementation, as the only difference between an illegal performance enhancing drug and a supplement…. is a classification, and I found it quite unlikely that we’d have evolved that much in a decade. I later found out that through heat stress, if you spend 1hr a day in the sauna at 180 degrees (obviously not in 1 sitting), after 7 days, growth hormone spikes naturally by x16, and athletic performance increases by over… Read more »
Once you get past 26 the chances of a full recovery are reduced. As each year passes your chances reduce. You also have an increased risk for the 2 years following the injury of injuring the other one. Getting back in around a year is highly likely with modern medicine but there are no guarantees some will be quicker and some slower. Most sportsman will have a significant mental barrier to overcome once they return before they can reach peak performance once again. Players often suffer muscle injuries after they return due compensating which is probably more a mental than… Read more »
There’s a whole lot of luck to take into account as well. Some will be just fine, others sometimes unexplainably, not so much.
Their age matters too. Even Falcao who was in his late 20s is still giving a good account of himself.
I expect Bellerin to make a full recovery; age is on his side.
Hector and holding getting injured really impacted our season. We stopped playing back 4 without Rob and lost so much down the right without hec. Su h a shame. Hopefully they come back strong and we can build this project youth idea around guys like this
Yes, it’s easy to forget now that losing those 2 was a big blow. I would say we could manage with AMN until Bellerin gets back in September, but we’ll need a right back eventually anyway as cover so might as well fill that role this summer
Is Jordi just not that good or is Emery just that against youth that he’s not in even considered an option? Or is it just too early in the off-season?
Really no clue to be honest. Would be fantastic if Osei Tutu can be a potential back up, but with how little we hear about him he seems to be not the best prospect in our academy. Wonder what Jeorge Bird thinks of him as a cover option
Yes! But despite these losses, the board and UE tried to get the fantastic (…) Suarez in january and didn’t even search for replacements….. I can’t wait for other fabulous decisions for our recruitement’s decisions.
He comes back in when he is fully fit no problem. AMN should deputise. No problem with Ainsley, just needs to be a bit less relaxed defensively. Pros he has great recover speed and he rarely panics but that strength is also his weakness since he tends to take it too easy. Its something that can be easily rectified with a bit of time (remember Bellerin first season) Going forward he adds positivity with take ons. Again needs to pick his runs and be careful with miss passes (he isn’t the only one, Torreira has done plenty too) So no… Read more »
It is not his natural position as he is far more comfortable in midfield.
AMN’s natural burst of speed with the ball is what we actually need in midfield now that Ramsey is gone. I don’t think right-back is his natural position at all (not Hector’s, either), Santori, but he’s done a decent job for us there and I think he could continue to do so, and I do agree that we need to keep developing him with the first team, in one role or another.
I’m struggling to understand our transfer strategy (if there is any) 1) We have a finite budget (40m). We need to prioritise on the 3 most critical positions we need to reinforce never mind other needs elsewhere. a) Cback – I don’t think we need to break the bank here. Someone with experience who has been in good form and confidence last season to bring something to us coming into this new season is what we need. Preferably 23-28yrs (again I’ve mentioned there is a fundamental difference between the rare de Ligt at 19yrs playing well and playing a lot… Read more »
Look boss, de plane!
Wow, Fantasy Island.
TBH….. I’m sick of this.
He is so important to how we play ( play properly that is) and the back up is crap ( AMN is a midfielder).
So bollixed as usual due to lack of investment
Noooooooo!!!!!??? Bellerin is my boy