Exeter City midfielder suffers ‘worst injury a footballer can get’

An Exeter City midfielder suffers what has been described to be as the ‘worst injury a footballer can get’ during a game last week.

Kyle Taylor looks unlikely to play again until 2023 after seriously injuring his knee in the League Two fixture against Oldham Athletic.

The 22-year-old was stretchered off just after he had scored his first goal for the club in the 2-0 win to keep their promotion hopes alive.

“It’s probably the worst injury a footballer can get,” Exeter manager Matt Taylor said when speaking with BBC Sport this week.

“A ruptured cruciate knee ligament injury, damage to his cartilage on both sides, damage to his medial ligament and also damage to the bone.”

Taylor is set to undergo surgery on Monday, however may need more than one operation to fix all the damage he suffered.

He was brought into the club as a summer signing from AFC Bournemouth, making his first start since the 11th of December and his absence means that Exeter have had to recall youngster Callum Rowe from a loan spell at Bath City for the 0-0 draw at Port Vale with Nigel Atangana being suspended and Tim Dieng and Harry Kite out injured.

“It’s a real shame for Kyle,” added Taylor.

“But you knew at the time because when there’s no collision and your studs get caught in the turf and your body goes one way and the knee locks in the opposite direction, you fear for the worst.

“We were privately hoping it was just medial ligaments, which wouldn’t be as long as the scenario has become.

“It’s difficult to put a timeframe on it, it’s a minimum of six months with a repaired cruciate, people look around the nine-month mark in reality with most cruciate injuries nine months to 12 months.

“But with the extra issue of having to repair the bone first and foremost, we don’t know how long that will take before he actually gets his cruciate repaired.”

Matt Taylor has given an update on Kyle Taylor’s injury:

🗣 “Unfortunately he has ruptured his cruciate knee ligament and damaged his medial knee ligament as well as both cartilages on either side, and also damage to the bone head.”

Come back stronger, @kyle_taylor1999 👊 pic.twitter.com/LFBBzO5CMQ

— Exeter City (@OfficialECFC) March 24, 2022

Exeter manager Matt Taylor confirmed the worst possible news earlier in the week: “It’s going to be a long time. It is probably the worst injury a young footballer can get as he has ruptured his cruciate ligament, damaged his cartilage on both sides, damaged his medial ligaments and he has also done damage to the bone.

“The impact was such, from when the cruciate ruptured, that the two bones came together and it has dented the bone, so he might have to have a pre-operation where they fix the bone first and foremost before they then fix the cruciate ligament further down the line. It’s a real shame for Kyle and you kind of knew at the time because, when there is no collision and your studs get caught in the turf, then your body goes one way and knee locks and goes the other, so you fear the worst.

“We were privately hoping it was just medial ligaments, which wouldn’t be as long as the scenario has become. We will just have to support Kyle through it but, realistically, he now starts on a long journey back to fitness.”

“He is under contract so however long it takes, we will support him through that,” the City boss said. “We hope to see him back on the pitch as soon as possible but, right now, that feels a long way away – especially for Kyle. “We will support him in what he’s going through and we are there for him for however long it takes.

“He will get time off and all the support he needs, but he must somehow keep his mind free of any worries for the future and concentrate on getting him back fit. We spoke to him about what hobbies and interests he’s got because there is nothing worse for a professional sportsman – not just footballers – than being injured and being injured for a long period of time.”

When questioned if there is any hobbies or interests of the player’s that can keep him occupied for the meantime, Taylor said: “He is probably our coolest kid. He’s into his fashion and has an eye for fashion and other players within our ranks have started copying Kyle’s fashion trends, which probably tells you he’s ahead of the trend.

“I remember when I was injured, I used to go fishing with a pot on my foot. I’d get someone to drop me there and I would sit on a river bank, or the side of a lake, for hour after hour and it just took my mind off the injury and what I had to do in terms of rehab. But you need other hobbies. People talk about reading books and studying and doing courses, but you have to do something that you are passionate about. We will try and help Kyle along the way, but he will need to find things to keep his mind occupied.

“We saw with Sam Stubbs how an injury can occupy your whole life and these are young men that still have to go out and live their life, socialise and understand they still have to live despite rehabbing the injury they have.”

DevonLive report that Taylor confirmed midfielder Tim Dieng could be back after his hamstring injury for the weekend. He added: “He has responded well but we have not been able to push him. He has done a bit today and we will assess him tomorrow and then will have to make a decision as to if we put him on the pitch or the bench or not involved in the squad at all. We know how important is and has been and will be for us so we have to make a sensible decision, but you want all your players available but Tim will be borderline for the weekend.”

Fans gave their thoughts and showed respect as Exeter City midfielder suffers the ‘worst injury a footballer can get’…

@TheMeowtingz: Ffs 😭

@NiallTDuffy: A shame we didn’t get to see more of him – I loved his hustle and the fact that he always looked to go forwards. Get well soon, @kyle_taylor1999

@ryangreenaway: Jeez, that’s a bad one. Good luck on the recovery Kyle

@GrecianStu: Gutted for him 😢

@SteveSteve4951: 🤞 speedy full recovery

@richard12934010: Ouch. Sorry for the lad.

@pwd86: Hope it all goes well and thank you for your efforts here. You’re strong enough to recover from this setback

@ecfcjake14: that’s a whileeeeee out then, best wishes kyle ❤️

@adrianley12: Kyle you will come back mentally stronger for this hope to see you in a red and white shirt in league one

@chrisrumbelow1: #afcb wishing @kyle_taylor1999 all the best in his recovery.

@roddersecfc: Absolutely gutted for Kyle Taylor. Needless to say, wishing him a speedy recovery

@mikeythorne21: F**k. Gutted for the lad. Keep battling @kyle_taylor1999. We are all with you.