0930.html

Knee injury to keep Heitinga sidelined for six months

30 September: A visit to hospital brought a new personal tragedy for Johnny Heitinga today: examination made clear that the cruciate ligament of the 18 year-old Ajax defender's left knee was fully torn off in yesterday's Eredivisie home game against NAC. Heitinga's recovery will take "at least six months", according to Ajax.nl.

Heitinga replaced the injured Cristian Chivu for the second half of Ajax vs NAC. It was his return to Ajax-1 action, after a cartilage injury in his right knee had ruled him out during the second half of last season. Seven minutes before the final whistle, a new tragedy of fate occurred, as the young defender twisted his knee while fouling an NAC forward.

Heitinga even received the yellow card for his tackle, while Ajax' medical staff treated him at the sideline. Heitinga managed to play the remaining seven minutes of the game, but appeared to be extremely worried after the game.

The respective fates of Heitinga and his team-mate Rafaël van der Vaart are so similar it frightens you: both sustained serious cartilage injuries in February of this year. Both underwent surgery in Amsterdam's V.U. Hospital and were expected to be sidelined for about six weeks. In both cases, surgical errors made extra surgery necessary.

Both Van der Vaart and Heitinga were helped at a different hospital (the Amsterdam Medical Centre, known simply as AMC) in April and were sidelined for the rest of the season. Shortly after their respective returns to Ajax-1 this season, both players sustained new knee injuries. In both cases it was their 'other' knee (the left for Heitinga, the right for Van der Vaart).

The only difference: Heitinga's new injury is far worse than Van der Vaart's, who is now almost halfway his six-week recovery. Heitinga, however, will not return to Ajax-1 before April of 2003. (MP)

(Source: Ajax.nl)