Juan Smith to return to rugby?

http://www.espn.co.uk/france-top-14-2013-14/rugby/story/195273.html

I will certainly be keeping an eye on this. Juan Smith is a remarkable player. I'm not sure I should feel so excited though, after so long out of the game and a recurring injury, surely he won't be the same player.

What do people think of this?

Forgot all about him! Funny to think that in a different reality there's a SA backrow of Burger and Smith which would have been a-mazing.

Most countries would be totally stuck losing two players of that calibre. SA seem to have a conveyor belt of international class flankers which keeps on producing each year.

None quite as good as Burger and Smith though. They are world cup winners.

Nobody is as good as The Smith and Burger combination in SA.

Two Springbok greats, Alberts has the muscle but not the pace of Smith, Louw can pilfer better than Schalk, but nowhere near the headt, mongrel and pure passion, Juan Smith is alongside Os du Randt my biggest Boks in history.

Smith and Burger on the flanks is enough to put the fear of god in most 10s. Seeing those two you'd just kiss good ball goodbye and prepare to take sone hits.

Toulon would be a good place to relaunch his career, plenty of quality so no pressure on playing week in week out. Perfect enviroment and lots of Bok pals already there. Plus a one year deal could see him back in SA quickly should he get back to his best.

Yea I imagine any of the big money laden French teams would be good for him. Gets him back into the spotlight as well which wouldn't happen if he just played Currie Cup or went to Japan.

I'd commend Edinburgh rugby to Mr Juan Smith! Perfect place for him.

Even on one leg he'd still be the best blindside in the squad by a country mile!

Hope it works out for him as his career was cut terribly short but I'm not expecting anything to come from it..... once your knees go, they're gone.... its a shame but thats sport.

He was one of the first players on the team sheet for near a decade yet only got 70 odd caps due to injuries.

No one will risk giving him even a 1year contract... it will be pay as you play for sure.

fa0019 wrote:Hope it works out for him as his career was cut terribly short but I'm not expecting anything to come from it..... once your knees go, they're gone.... its a shame but thats sport.

He was one of the first players on the team sheet for near a decade yet only got 70 odd caps due to injuries.

No one will risk giving him even a 1year contract... it will be pay as you play for sure.

Is this really true? That knee injuries are that severe? The same sort of thing is happening with Stephen Ferris for Ulster and Ireland. I would love to see him back but what you say seems to be the case. I just wonder if the players gave their knees more time to heal could they potentially recover? I'm talking years rather than months.

Maybe Doctor Grey can weigh in here, with the severity of knee injuries in sport.

Rory, the biggest problems ate definitely the recovery time when it comes to knee injuries.

Theoretically, as long as the rehab is done correctly and adhered to for the appropriate length if time then everything should be grand when it comes to ligaments. I was at a talk a few years ago by the Bradford Bulls physio stating that something like a third of rugby league players are playing without an intact PCL.

By not allowing any injury proper time to heal then you're constantly going to be reaggravating the injury and leading to further complications.

Easier said than done mind, even as a physio I constantly try to come back from knee injuries too soon and delay the comeback.

Thanks very much for the information, Boss. Yes, a player will always try to return as early as he can, that is understandable. However, who is responsible for deciding when a player is fit enough to return to the game? Or rather who is allowing them to return too early without fully recovering?

A player can claim he is fine and pass his fitness test without being 100%, so I would assume it is a hard thing for the Doctor to know exactly.

When a player has returned to full muscle strength and range of movement then he is well capable of bullshoiting the medical team as pain is a subjective thing. We can do all the tests in the world for some injuries especially ligaments but you'd need a portable MRI to make sure of all your diagnoses a lot of the time.

Obviously, the medical team should have the last day on when a player returns from injury and a full rehab programme should be undertaken and match situations should all be tested upon.

Is Fez's case a degenerative 1 or has he had tears?

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

fa0019 wrote:Hope it works out for him as his career was cut terribly short but I'm not expecting anything to come from it..... once your knees go, they're gone.... its a shame but thats sport.

He was one of the first players on the team sheet for near a decade yet only got 70 odd caps due to injuries.

No one will risk giving him even a 1year contract... it will be pay as you play for sure.

Is this really true?  That knee injuries are that severe?  The same sort of thing is happening with Stephen Ferris for Ulster and Ireland.  I would love to see him back but what you say seems to be the case.  I just wonder if the players gave their knees more time to heal could they potentially recover?  I'm talking years rather than months.

Maybe Doctor Grey can weigh in here, with the severity of knee injuries in sport.

Yes, grade 2 ligament tear or slightly higher requires surgery. The ligament is reconstructed, usually by using part of your hamstring tendon. So then you also have a weak hamstring with a limited range of movement. During the time off you would also suffer from atrophy. Some players have gone on to recover, others are not so lucky. If you ever have a choice, opt for a donated graft instead of allowing them to hack off your hamstring. It's also a stronger graft that way.

It usually takes 6-12 months to recover, it depends on the severity.

The Boss wrote:When a player has returned to full muscle strength and range of movement then he is well capable of bullshoiting the medical team as pain is a subjective thing. We can do all the tests in the world for some injuries especially ligaments but you'd need a portable MRI to make sure of all your diagnoses a lot of the time.

Obviously, the medical team should have the last day on when a player returns from injury and a full rehab programme should be undertaken and match situations should all be tested upon.

Is Fez's case a degenerative 1 or has he had tears?

Ferris problem is cartilage is it not, or more specifically a lack of it.

Wasn't sure at all rodders. In that case it does become particularly tricky as the cartilage acts as a shock absorber and with the forces Ferris puts through his knees he's gonna be susceptible to injury.

The thing about Juan Smith is that he's been out for what 2 years with this very injury and in his comeback game 8 months ago he crocked his knee again... he didn't even complete the game.

I admire the guy for not giving up, thats the attitude which made him a bok in the first place but its difficult to watch and see a once great player fight it out like this. Its like old boxers who refuse to retire.

Steve Thompson came back from 2 years out plus mind albeit Hooker requires a lot less pitch mobility then a flanker.