With his ladies
Kelly our new CB?
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With his ladies
^^cover up.
There's a longer version of the piece our excellent Binny posted, so I'll add the other bits here:
T’S nearly 10 months since Martin Kelly ’s world was turned upside down. The Liverpool defender’s impressive start to life under Brendan Rodgers was cruelly halted in the closing stages of last September’s clash with Manchester United.
Kelly landed awkwardly on the Anfield turf and his worst fears were realised when a scan confirmed that he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. His season was over.
“It wasn’t the pain, it was the sound when I did it which meant I knew straight away it was a serious one,” Kelly said.
“I was trying to dribble the ball out at the time. I was trying to put the two guys off in front of me. I was looking up at the stand, while trying to go the other way, so I wasn’t looking where I was going.
“As I was just about to plant my foot I got a tap from Robin van Persie which knocked me off balance.
“I remember Carra coming over saying ‘come on, there are only a couple of minutes left’ but I knew I wouldn’t be able to carry on.
“I should have been stretchered off but I walked off with it because I was still in shock.”
As Whiston-born Kelly came to terms with the crushing setback, he briefly feared that history was about to repeat itself.
His father Brian’s non-league career had been ended by the same injury when he was 32.
“That was the big chat when I first did it as it ended my dad’s playing days with St Helens,” Kelly said.
“That was one of the most difficult things for me and my dad to get over, but we stayed positive and all the medical staff were fantastic.
“The first couple of weeks were the toughest when you have to accept the injury. Once you have accepted it you have to put a plan in place where there is no time to dwell on it.
“I went to London to be operated on by Dr Williams who was highly recommended and he did a great job.
“They take the patella tendon out at the front of your knee and use that to make a new cruciate ligament. It heals twice as strong as your original cruciate but you’re left with a third of the tendon missing.”
Kelly’s rehabilitation programme has been long and gruelling but the support of his team-mates has helped keep his spirits up.
With Reds midfielder Lucas Leiva having suffered the same injury in November 2011, help and advice has never been far away.
“Even when I was out, all the lads made sure I still felt part of the team,” he said.
“I came in to do my work at the same time as them so I was with them before they went out to train. I was still involved in all the meetings and that was good mentally for me.
“It was great to have Lucas around to talk to. When I’d say my tendon was aching he would reassure me that was normal.
“He was a big support but his rehab was different to mine. His cruciate was done by a tackle, mine was done by being off balance.
“He was back within six months but my rehab took longer because I’m a different type of player to Lucas.
“The surgeon made it clear that I could only go back into training when I felt like I not only had the strength but also the balance work to go with it otherwise I could go over on it again.
“I’m the type of person who takes that bit longer to heal. I did a lot of work in the gym on my strength, core and balance.
“Then I stepped things up gradually by doing a few sessions with the under-18s and then the under-21s before training with the lads at Melwood.
“You have to be careful. I was speaking to (Newcastle’s) Ryan Taylor towards the back end of last season and he’s had terrible luck.
“He was on the verge of making a comeback and then did his cruciate again. Now he’s had a successful operation and I wish him all the best. He must be a strong character as it must be so difficult to suffer that twice.”
All Kelly’s hard graft has paid off. A two-inch scar provides a constant reminder of his battle back to fitness but he was given the green light by the club’s medical staff to play a full part in pre-season training this week.
He hopes to make his long-awaited return to action in next Saturday’s opening friendly against Preston at Deepdale.
“My knee feels perfect and I’m just glad to be back with the team for pre-season,” he said.
T’S nearly 10 months since Martin Kelly ’s world was turned upside down. The Liverpool defender’s impressive start to life under Brendan Rodgers was cruelly halted in the closing stages of last September’s clash with Manchester United.
Kelly landed awkwardly on the Anfield turf and his worst fears were realised when a scan confirmed that he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. His season was over.
“It wasn’t the pain, it was the sound when I did it which meant I knew straight away it was a serious one,” Kelly said.
“I was trying to dribble the ball out at the time. I was trying to put the two guys off in front of me. I was looking up at the stand, while trying to go the other way, so I wasn’t looking where I was going.
“As I was just about to plant my foot I got a tap from Robin van Persie which knocked me off balance.
“I remember Carra coming over saying ‘come on, there are only a couple of minutes left’ but I knew I wouldn’t be able to carry on.
“I should have been stretchered off but I walked off with it because I was still in shock.”
As Whiston-born Kelly came to terms with the crushing setback, he briefly feared that history was about to repeat itself.
His father Brian’s non-league career had been ended by the same injury when he was 32.
“That was the big chat when I first did it as it ended my dad’s playing days with St Helens,” Kelly said.
“That was one of the most difficult things for me and my dad to get over, but we stayed positive and all the medical staff were fantastic.
“The first couple of weeks were the toughest when you have to accept the injury. Once you have accepted it you have to put a plan in place where there is no time to dwell on it.
“I went to London to be operated on by Dr Williams who was highly recommended and he did a great job.
“They take the patella tendon out at the front of your knee and use that to make a new cruciate ligament. It heals twice as strong as your original cruciate but you’re left with a third of the tendon missing.”
Kelly’s rehabilitation programme has been long and gruelling but the support of his team-mates has helped keep his spirits up.
With Reds midfielder Lucas Leiva having suffered the same injury in November 2011, help and advice has never been far away.
“Even when I was out, all the lads made sure I still felt part of the team,” he said.
“I came in to do my work at the same time as them so I was with them before they went out to train. I was still involved in all the meetings and that was good mentally for me.
“It was great to have Lucas around to talk to. When I’d say my tendon was aching he would reassure me that was normal.
“He was a big support but his rehab was different to mine. His cruciate was done by a tackle, mine was done by being off balance.
“He was back within six months but my rehab took longer because I’m a different type of player to Lucas.
“The surgeon made it clear that I could only go back into training when I felt like I not only had the strength but also the balance work to go with it otherwise I could go over on it again.
“I’m the type of person who takes that bit longer to heal. I did a lot of work in the gym on my strength, core and balance.
“Then I stepped things up gradually by doing a few sessions with the under-18s and then the under-21s before training with the lads at Melwood.
“You have to be careful. I was speaking to (Newcastle’s) Ryan Taylor towards the back end of last season and he’s had terrible luck.
“He was on the verge of making a comeback and then did his cruciate again. Now he’s had a successful operation and I wish him all the best. He must be a strong character as it must be so difficult to suffer that twice.”
All Kelly’s hard graft has paid off. A two-inch scar provides a constant reminder of his battle back to fitness but he was given the green light by the club’s medical staff to play a full part in pre-season training this week.
He hopes to make his long-awaited return to action in next Saturday’s opening friendly against Preston at Deepdale.
“My knee feels perfect and I’m just glad to be back with the team for pre-season,” he said.
Hopefully he'll overcome the injury woes that blighted his early days at the club.
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