I was watching Children In Need Rocks last night, listening to the mellow husky tones of Rod Stewart.
As the camera panned away it revealed some strange grey footwear on Rod’s right leg that I’m sure wasn’t planned when he signed up for the gig. His voice wasn’t affected in any way but he wasn’t moving around the stage with his normal vigour.
It turns out at the end of September he tripped over a piece of concrete whilst playing football with his sons Alistair, 12 and Aiden, 7 and broke a bone in his foot.
A footballing injury like that means it’s probably a metatarsal fracture, most likely the 5th metatarsal on the outside of his foot. The same injury that other famous footballers like Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have suffered.
But with the type of boot he’s wearing, the Aircast FP Walker, it could also be a fracture of the lateral malleolus, the tip of the ankle bone on the outside of his ankle.
For Rod, his injury came at the most unfortunate time, in the build up to promoting his new album Blood Red Roses. But he hasn’t let it stop him from turning up on the One Show in Tartan Slippers and playing a number of gigs across the world.
Given the injury happened at the end of September, he’s likely to have his boot on until just before Christmas to allow the bone to heal. But it could be a little longer after pulling out of a couple of gigs in October with increased pain and swelling in his ankle. As much as he won’t want to admit it, his age may also have an effect on his healing rate.
Once he’s out of the boot he’ll need to start some physiotherapy to regain strength, mobility and balance. Especially if he wants to get back onto the football pitch and running rings round his sons in the back garden!
Here at C-Physio we’re wishing Rod all the best for a speedy recovery. Hopefully we’ll see him kicking footballs into the crowd before too long.
I’m getting prepared to watch Children In Need this evening. And through teary eyes, looking forward to hearing about the great work they do for charities across the country.
For more information about broken bones, fracture healing times and the rehabilitation involved after breaking a bone, give us a call on 01274 270450, or visit www.c-physio.co.uk to download our eBook - ‘What’s the Difference Between a Break and a Fracture?’