Carlos Karvahal: ‘It has 50% chance of returning to the highest level’

Pablo Gelber, a leading surgeon in injuries to , speaks to the Spanish newspaper “Marca” about the shocking injury he suffered in Real Madrid’s (2–0) victory over Villareal in La Liga Carlos Karvahal suffered a rupture of anterior link, a rupture of a lateral link, but also with a rupture of a sinus tendon on his right leg and the world’s leading surgeon in knee injuries spoke to Marca and described the… harsh reality, about her Spanish back. “Without entering this particular case, I would say that there is a 50-60% chance that a player after this injury would return exactly to the previous level. I wouldn’t talk about less than 12 months of recovery. One negative factor is that footballers tend to have heavy legs, as we technically call it,” he said. Recognized for his ability to restore top athletes and amateur athletes after injuries that seemed insurmountable, Dr. Pablo Gelber has faced complicated cases from around the world and is considered number one in his specialty. “First of all, the side of the knee is known to experts as the dark side of the knee, because it is the least understood part of it. The biggest challenge is to know how to interpret properly which elements are actually injured, because there is a lot and with different meaning. We have developed the so-called mini-invasive techniques with minimal incisions and faster recovery. To do this, we need many years of research to make this technique safe, without the risk of injury to other structures, having a much smaller incision than is usually done. In some cases, such as that concerning Danny Carvahal, surgery must be done very early after a few days where inflammation must retreat. Most surgeons wait three or four weeks to proceed directly to total rehabilitation, but we have seen this is no better for these injuries. Without a doubt, the most important thing is the type of surgery that is done. We believe we should adapt to the patient’s injury, not the other way around. That is why we use at least six different techniques according to each case,” the famous doctor said and continued referring to Danny Karvahal. “The chance to return is great enough, but whether to return to the same previous level will depend on the surgery that will take place and what will follow it. There are, in other words, cases where surgery begins and everything is damaged, more than one suspected. Unfortunately as people we can’t repair everything. Therefore, if the current technical capacity is insufficient to cover all the injuries produced, the results will not be optimal. One must focus on what can be done in terms of recovery and give the best of oneself. Knowing Danny Carvahal’s personality, I take it for granted. Even so, it is very important that we be honest with the athlete and that his expectations are real, so that if things do not go exactly as we wish, the emotional blow is not greater than it should.”