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Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson has been diagnosed with an incurable foot injury, according to reports. The midfielder had been experiencing chronic foot pain in his heel for the last few years, which has only been recently diagnosed as plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of tissue near the outside of the heel.
The condition has no immediate cure, but the pain can be managed with adequate rest periods, taping the heel and nerve-blocks during games as well as a change in footwear.
Ironically, Henderson’s condition started with a change in footwear last season. Coupled with a hectic workload that has seen the midfielder without a summer break for more than five years, Henderson began to experience unbearable pain in his heel.
“It was unbearable every time I planted my foot it was like a burning, stabbing, nerve pain,” said Henderson. Even lying in bed there was pain in my foot.”
The midfielder, who made his comeback last week against Swansea, is far more positive about the injury after speaking about it with Jamie Carragher, who played the last few years of his career with the same condition. He also visited an expert in the USA in September, with a view to learn how to manage the injury, since there is no timescale regarding relief from the pain.
“I spoke to Carra briefly and we also spoke to quite a few experts and doctors all over the world to try and nip it in the bud,” said the Liverpool lynchpin.
“It is much better now and I am getting very little if any pain but there is always that consciousness 'is it going to come back?'.
Ferguson may have predicted Hendson’s condition
Sir Alex Ferguson decided against purchasing Jordan Henderson after taking a detailed look at the midfielder’s gait. Speaking about the Liverpool midfielder in his autobiography, Ferguson wrote, “We looked at Jordan Henderson a lot and Steve Bruce was unfailingly enthusiastic about him. Against that we noticed that Henderson runs from his knees, with a straight back, while the modern footballer runs from his hips. We thought his gait might cause him problems later in his career.”
Biomechanical faults in the style of walking is listed as one of the conditions that could lead to plantar fasciitis, according to the Mayo Clinic. Henderson has been made aware of Ferguson’s comments, but has dismissed his gait as being on of the reasons for his condition.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with my gait,” Henderson said. “That didn’t bother me at the time and it won’t bother us now. All I am focusing on is getting back on the training pitch and contributing in games which is where I want to be.”
