Chapter 631: The Gifted 33cm Achilles Tendon

A tearing pain came from the left ankle, then the pain vanished immediately; Ji Xiang even felt he could still limp a few steps.

Although it didn't look serious, Ji Xiang knew very well that "his" Achilles Tendon had ruptured; when he was kicked and sent flying by a black-footed player, the force was applied incorrectly, leading to the Achilles Tendon Rupture.

It wasn't very painful, incomparable to Urological Calculus; after the momentary pain, Ji Xiang felt he was fine, with only that faint "pop" sound remaining in his mind.

Even Ji Xiang himself doubted if he had heard it wrong.

Ji Xiang was very cautious and didn't stand up, instead reaching out to touch his left ankle.

The spot where the Achilles Tendon used to be was hard, but now it felt soft to the touch; the Achilles Tendon that provided elasticity and support for his movement had disappeared.

After being lifted onto a stretcher, the team doctor seemed to want to say something to Ji Xiang, but he didn't, only patting Ji Xiang on the shoulder to show comfort.

Arriving at the lounge, the team doctor examined Ji Xiang and sighed, saying, "Xiao Ji, it should be an Achilles Tendon Rupture; let's get a Magnetic Resonance Imaging to confirm."

After a moment of silence, the team doctor complained, "Look at you, why risk your life? You've already lost; don't you know the scouts from AC Milan came specifically to watch you? You need to perform well, but you must not get injured; have you forgotten what I told you before?"

"Doctor Hao, I went on the field to compete," Ji Xiang said earnestly.

The team doctor curled his lips, about to say something, but held it back.

"Sigh, such a bright future, all gone in an instant," the team doctor shook his head.

Ji Xiang didn't engage with the team doctor; he recalled the encounter on the field, felt the sensation of the Achilles Tendon Rupture, and waited silently for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Without surprise, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging confirmed the Achilles Tendon Rupture.

As time passed, obvious edema could be seen on Ji Xiang's left ankle. To Ji Xiang, the edema didn't look serious, and the pain wasn't heavy either; it seemed like a very "friendly" trauma.

At least compared to a Clavicle Fracture, the Achilles Tendon Rupture seemed more than a little bit "friendly."

However, what was comforting was that the team doctor found a friend of his for Ji Xiang, which was the only thing the team doctor could do to help Ji Xiang.

When Zhou Jiaoshou appeared, Ji Xiang knew he seemed to be saved, and with the precedent of Zhao Dali, Ji Xiang believed he should be fine.

The procedure for an Achilles Tendon Repair is similar to that of a ligament surgery; Ji Xiang finally felt relieved after being pushed into the Hybrid Operating Room.

He had encountered the "mature" Zhou Jiaoshou.

"Kicked by your own teammate, huh? They were pretty ruthless with their feet this time."

Ji Xiang heard Zhou Jiaoshou comment on his injury in a teasing tone, and then his mind grew fuzzy and he fell asleep.

When he woke up, the surgery was already finished; Zhou Jiaoshou stood before him, eyes narrowing slightly, "Young man, what is your name?"

"Ji Xiang."

"A very good name," Zhou Jiaoshou smiled, "The surgery was very successful. Your Achilles Tendon is very long; you truly are gifted. Use it well in the future, and watch out for those bad guys who are jealous of you."

"My Achilles Tendon is very long?" Ji Xiang was startled.

He had just woken up from general anesthesia, and coupled with his lack of deep-seated knowledge in Orthopedics and sports science, he needed time to search his memory for relevant data.

"An average person's Achilles Tendon is about 15cm long; I estimated yours to be about 33cm during surgery, which already belongs to top-tier talent," Zhou Jiaoshou said with narrowed eyes.

"Bolt's Achilles Tendon is said to be 42cm long," Ji Xiang said.

"High ambitions. Bolt is a sprinter, while you are a soccer player; 33cm is already the longest Achilles Tendon I've ever seen on a soccer player," Zhou Jiaoshou said, "I'll repeat, the surgery was very successful; post-operative rehabilitation training depends on you. If you need anything, call me anytime."

After saying this, Zhou Jiaoshou turned and left.

Returning to the ward, Ji Xiang had an Indwelling Needle in his left hand for an IV, a pulse oximeter on his right hand, electrode pads for a Cardiac Monitor on his body, an oxygen tube in his nose, and his leg was in a cast and couldn't move.

Soon, the pain from the surgery arrived, and combined with the inability to move, Ji Xiang felt very uncomfortable.

However, fortunately, this wasn't his first time dealing with surgery, so Ji Xiang could endure it; he kept shifting his focus, letting his attention rest on the 33cm, gifted Achilles Tendon length that Zhou Jiaoshou mentioned.

Su Bingtian's Achilles Tendon is about 27cm.

The length of the Achilles Tendon reflects a person's powerful jumping ability, and this ability can give one a great advantage in sprinting.

The Achilles Tendon of a top soccer player is generally around 30cm; after all, there is a difference between soccer and basketball.

Guys like Bolt, whose entire lower leg is an Achilles Tendon, are already monsters.

Jordan's Achilles Tendon was also less than 29cm; Ji Xiang expressed satisfaction with "his" data.

As the anesthesia gradually wore off, Ji Xiang did not force himself to endure the pain. Making himself more comfortable was necessary; Ji Xiang had no masochistic tendencies.

However, although oral painkillers and subcutaneous injections of morphine hydrochloride relieved the pain, Ji Xiang didn't sleep well all night.

The hardest day passed, the pain lessened, and Ji Xiang felt occasional twitching in his left ankle wrapped in the cast.

Ji Xiang knew how to solve this problem; the twitching was caused by nerve reflexes and was a normal post-operative reaction.

The doctor came to change Ji Xiang's dressing, and he saw his surgical incision.

Zhou Jiaoshou didn't use a small incision to solve the problem as a show of skill, but instead cut a large 25cm opening directly.

Moreover, Zhou Jiaoshou didn't use cosmetic suturing, choosing the simplest "centipede-like" suturing method.

He really is a guy who cuts corners whenever he can, Ji Xiang thought to himself.

On the third day after surgery, the pain decreased further; Ji Xiang couldn't sit still, so he did a few simple sets of kneeling push-ups, crunches, and water bottle curls and lateral raises on the bed.

The doctor informed Ji Xiang that he could be discharged tomorrow and explained the post-operative rehabilitation process to him in detail.

For example, changing the dressing every 3 or 4 days, then a follow-up visit 3 weeks after surgery, removing the cast, removing the stitches, and switching to an Achilles Tendon boot.

In the 2nd week after surgery, Ji Xiang discovered that the damage brought by the "friendly" Achilles Tendon Rupture was endless.

He looked at the visible difference in thickness between his left and right legs and sighed in his heart.

His left thigh muscle used to be as hard as a rock, but now it was obviously softer and thinner...

Emmm, can't think about it anymore; Ji Xiang's first department for Standardized Residency Training was the Urology Department, and some things were deeply rooted in his mind.

Looking at the two legs of different thickness, Ji Xiang knew the difficulties he would face in the future were great.

Calling Zhou Jiaoshou, Ji Xiang asked when he could start rehabilitation training. Zhou Jiaoshou felt it was unbelievable that Ji Xiang hadn't done activities like four-way leg raises yet; he didn't scold him, but patiently explained the rehabilitation for the New Surgical Technique to Ji Xiang.

As for the local doctors' lack of understanding, Zhou Jiaoshou just glossed over it vaguely.

(End of chapter)