My Injury Hell is Over, Says Terry Envoh

After two year of inaction occasioned by a persistent hip problem, former Nigeria Under-17 and Under-20 international, Terry Envoh, believes his injury hell is over and expects to be back in action within a year.

Terry first suffered a horrible hip injury in 2014 and missed the entire 2015 season through a hip impingement injury and even when he returned, he struggled to play at the high level that led football watchers to tip him for super stardom.

Hopes of a full return to fitness and resumption of his career however, emerged over the weekend via social media on Monday when pictures emerged of Terry undergoing surgery with a FIFA recognised Sports Medicine team led by Dr Sunday Onimisi Salami.

Dr Salami is a Sports Traumatologist and Arthroscopic Orthopedic Surgeon who is Member of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS).

He leads the Kasi Health Sports Medicine team in Lagos Nigeria that now offers hope for many Nigerian athletes whose careers have stalled from injuries that have been poorly treated and sometimes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as in the case with Terry Envoh.

“I had no idea about any of the Sports Medicine experts here in Nigeria and was referred by a former colleague whose career had also been saved by Dr Salami and is back in the league scoring goals,” Terry said when we put a call through to him. “Given how the operation went, I am certain my injury hell is over and I will follow through my recovery road map.”

Dr Salami who is the Chief of Surgery and Consultant Arthroscopic Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Traumatologist at Kasi Health, he said Terry required a very complex surgery to put hip joint back in playing condition — and get him back on the football field.

He performed the complex surgery with his team and confirmed that the injury has not ended the player’s career.
“Terry Envoh’s surgery was successful and we fully expect him to make a full recovery. By no means should an injury like that truncate the career of such a talented young man,” Dr Salami said. “We are confident he will return to elite level of play even with the two years of injury as we have fully fixed the problem with the hip. It also helps incredibly that he is a very determined and positive young man and has already began rehabilitation under our care.

In fact, I see him eventually earning a call up to the Super Eagles once he starts playing regularly again. That is his dream and we will make sure he gets all the help and support necessary to achieve it.”

Also corroborating Salami’s thesis on Envoh, Dr Dayo Osholowu, Director of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation at Kasi Healthcare, the team overseeing Envoh’s recovery said the player’s positive mindset means he stands a good chance of full recovery.

“A patient’s mindset and disposition is extremely essential in recovery. It is that positive mindset that will mean that patients will follow through on all the recovery programmes we carefully design for them. To see him so determined and focused even after going through so much is refreshing and we envisage that he will be back on the pitch within nine months,” the director assured the player.

Dr Osholowu is an alumnus of the prestigious FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence Johannesburg, South Africa where he earned a postgraduate certification in Football Medicine.

He has served with international teams including the Athens 2011 Special Olympics World Games Medical Team, South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cups. He is also a member of the international FIFA Medical Network.

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