Shane Long The Latest Long Term Injury Casualty
Saints have lost virtually an entire team to one injury or another since the start of December and now Shane Long adds to our injury woes.
Shane Long has been showing his worth in the past couple of months, Long adds something different to the mix when he plays and although often his contribution won't show up on the stats, he has been the catalyst that has sparked many a move that has lead to a goal.
When he came on against Crystal Palace with half an hour left there were high hopes he would again be the man after his match winning performance against Ipswich in the last round, but this game would be over for him barely 12 minutes later when he stayed down after what looks a fairly innocuous tackle.
The fact he stayed down so long did not bode well, he is not the type of player to feign injury and he was helped off and off to hospital for X Rays.
Initial reports prior to the X Rays suggest that Long has fractured a rib or two, having suffered this very injury myself playing football I have first hand experience of ho painful this injury can be and how long it takes to get back to playing.
It s not an injury that can really be treated and everyone's recovery time differs, usually you would expect it to keep a player out for anywhere between 3-5 weeks but that is not a guaranteed time.
If Long is a quick healer he might be able to strap it up, grit his teeth and play in there weeks, certainly he is the type who would do that rather than want to wait till the pain has totally gone.
In the meantime he just has to live an uncomfortable life where even turning over in bed can be agony.
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