The club’s highly coveted transfer and #1 priority headed into the off-season Martin Ødegaard comes with a plethora of strengths and positive attributes but one of the question marks surrounding the player is a chronic knee injury – termed “patellar tendinopathy”.
This issue has plagued Martin for years including while on loan at Vitesse and then flared up on him multiple times while on subsequent loan at Real Sociedad which led to meeting with specialists in Barcelona for a surgery consultation (it was deemed necessary, a good sign)..
The question for Arsenal and Arsenal fans becomes – just how bad is the injury and will it impact his career? To understand that, lets start with a basic understanding of the injury itself.
What is “patellar tendinopathy?”
Patellar tendinopathy refers to irritation of the patellar tendon – which bridges the patella (kneecap) and tibia (shin bone).
The injury – colloquially called “jumpers knee” – is quite common in young athletes like Martin who are involved in sports that require repetitive high energy loading of the tendon such as jumping, landing, pivoting, and cutting. These movements require the tendon to store and release energy, like a spring.
Tendinopathy classifications
Tendinopathy can be functionally classified along a spectrum of severity into four phases (the Blazina classification system):
Based on reporting and functionality, Ødegaard is very likely in phase 1 or early phase 2.
Why does it happen?
When the patellar tendon is overloaded, the collagen fibers that make up the tendon can go into a state of disrepair and become disorganized, resulting in chronic pain and tendon thickening visible on MRI.
Is it manageable?
When dealt with proactively, patellar tendinopathy in the earlier stages is very manageable and can still be played through effectively. The key is understanding when load management is necessary and when it’s ok to push through discomfort as tendon discomfort is a very fluid situation in which mild pain may not lead to anything more. To that point, early stages of physio for tendinopathy very commonly actually lead to an increase in discomfort.
Although player rotation and rest are important, those alone won’t solve a tendinopathy. To that point, Ødegaard had 3+ months without a game with Real Sociedad due to the COVID19 delay yet experienced discomfort again just two games into the restart. Managing a player with patellar tendinopathy – especially in season – is about gauging the duration and intensity of the symptoms, rather than a binary “pain or no pain” assessment.
Arsenal’s medical and training staff are well aware of that reality and handled Martin quite well during his loan stint, with no indication that he was dealing with any sort of knee injury or flare-ups. This understanding is a very positive indicator for Ødegaard’s prospects moving forward at the club.
Career impact
Patellar tendinopathy can certainly be a frustrating and drawn out recovery process – often as long as six months – but when caught in the early stages and managed well, it can certainly be dealt with effectively.
For example, tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has dealt with this same issue in both knees since he was 20 and although he’s had some flare-ups that required him to sit out key tournaments, he’s still managed to win 19 grand slams while playing a very intensive style of tennis and is still going strong. Decent career.
Even in a worst case scenario where the condition worsens severely and all conservative options fail for Ødegaard (note: this is very unlikely when managed effectively), the surgery to excise (remove) degenerated tissue still shows a very high rate of return to play in the research.
Overall – with the right precautions, prudent management, and commitment to fitness, I expect Ødegaard to have a fruitful career and be a key building block of Arteta’s ongoing Arsenal rebuild.
Fin. COYG.
Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT, (@3cbperformance) is a physiotherapist, movement expert, fitness trainer, sports scientist and mindfulness coach. He runs the LA and online based wellness and athletic performance clinic 3CB Performance, is an avid Gooner since 1995, and you can subscribe to his Youtube channel (which posts a variety of Gunners’ related content).