Don Heads Off For Treatment
Last updated : 05 March 2002 By Mike Reich
 | Don - Off to Canada |
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It was such a cruel blow to Don - just when he was beginning to settle into the Hammers midfield, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, meaning months of treatment and recovery. However he seems to be a bit brighter now:
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Now that I've had some time to digest the fact that I'm going to be out of the game for eight to 10 months, I feel a million times better. Of course, I'm still devastated at the prospect of missing so much football, but I'm slowly starting to get my head around the prospect of getting through such a long lay-off. "
I have to say I've been made to feel a lot better about things, thanks to the dozens of phone calls I've already received from my friends involved in the game. Glenn Roeder left a very encouraging message on my answer machine this week, which again left me feeling a lot more positive about things."
West Ham have searched for the best surgeon to perform the operation, and have decided on Bryan Day, an English-born expert living in Vancouver, Canada. Don is very grateful for all the help and support the club have given him:
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I'm also glad to have sorted out plans for the operation itself. I have to say West Ham have been brilliant from the word go and have spared no expense in getting the right man for the job. We could have gone to any of the best surgeons in the world, in the USA, Australia, Belgium, Holland or here in England but in the end we plumped for Bryan.
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I'm probably flying out to Vancouver on Wednesday and I'll have the operation before the weekend. I'm not too nervous right now, but I'm sure I will be closer to the day. It then looks like I'll be staying in Canada for a couple of weeks afterwards because I'll have to wait until the swelling goes down before getting on a plane back to London."
One of the hardest things for him must be thinking about his return, which is still months off. Whilst he thinks he will be back well before next year, he realises he definitely won't be back until the last quarter of this year.
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I'm reluctant to set any targets for my comeback before the operation itself, but I think reports suggesting I'm out until 2003 are way off the mark. They say I should expect to be missing for six to 10 months and I'll be working towards that plan.
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I believe October is a realistic goal for me. That means I'll miss the first couple of European Championship qualifiers for Scotland, which is disappointing, but I'll be back for the remainder of the campaign that's for sure."
To read Don's comments in full, head over to
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