By Mark Etheridge
Former joint South African 400-metre record-holder Arnaud Malherbe has been quick to wish Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk a speedy recovery from impending surgery to his right knee.
Van Niekerk, 25, damaged his meniscus, as well tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a touch rugby match at Newlands last month and will shortly undergo surgery in the United States.
As many sportsmen, administrators and fans questioned the wisdom of world athletics’ hottest property putting his track career at risk, Malherbe took the pragmatic line.
He told Team SA website: ‘I was very sorry to learn of Wayde’s recent injury while playing touch rugby.
‘While I fully understand and support his reasons for playing, it may have been a risk he shouldn’t have taken.
‘Truth is though, he was just extremely unlucky and could just as easily have made it through the match unscathed.
‘However, all that is water under the bridge and I wish Wayde a full and speedy recovery.’
Malherbe speaks from both a racing perspective as well as that of recovery from injury. ‘I’ve had a knee operation myself and am running without any pain whatsoever, so there is every reason to believe Wayde will be back to his world-beating best soon.’
Of course, the big question is, should the operation be a success and Van Niekerk’s knee fully rehabilitated will he be able to get back to full speed in a sport where milli-seconds are the difference between podium and also-ran?
In fact, the case of one of Malherbe’s main rivals spotlights this very question.
Atlanta Olympian Alfred Visagie (also 400m) tore cartilage in his knee, not during a touch rugby match, but during an action cricket match.
Despite making a full recovery from the surgical procedure he was never the same athlete and while still being competitive was never able to break 46sec post operation whereas his personal best before the injury was 45.61sec.
One medical expert questioning the wisdom of athletes taking part in sports other than their speciality is cycling outfit Team Dimension Data’s sports medicine physician Jarrad van Zuydam.
He tweeted: ‘So that we’re on the same page: This is a potentially career ending injury. Some athletes never come back from an ACL. Worth it? Dear world-class athletes, skip the celebrity touch-rugby/beach football/hopscotch tournaments. You will get injured.’
Picture of Van Niekerk indicating there was trouble with his knee during the October 7 touch rugby match at Newlands courtesy of Roger Sedres/ImageSA