really well written Kieran, thanks mate.

@ Nick

Guti had the chance to come to arsenal a few years ago but pulled out at the last minute. leaving spain and settling in england was tough for him…so thats history…he was supposed to fit somewhere between the depatures of petit and the signing of edu.

All the best for Edu….

Very sad news for me since I’m a Real Madrid fan in terms of La Liga, Raul is leaving. Nowhere in the game will you find a more loyal player, captain, etc than Raul has been for Real these many years. Raul scored 323 goals in 741 games for Real Madrid, as well as 44 in 102 appearances for Spain. He’s either coming to the Prem or will go to Schalke in the Bundesliga. He will be missed.

Guti is also leaving Real. A player I’d love to see come to Arsenal!

Dean Ashton is a good example.. he had to retire.. Injuries are not footballers’ friends and the press should not make it worse for them!!!!

Aside from the physical demands of a compound fracture the mental recovery can be just as bad, if not worse as we all saw with Eduardo. I honestly think the lad did Arsenal proud coming back (physically) the way he did. Some players wouldn’t have been able to come back to the level he is at. Psychologically I think he’s yet to fully recover. Rambo is young and has the edge he needs to get back to 100%. He has the right attitude and belief that he’s gonna get back. As was said, his fracture was simpler that Dudu’s and I think the mental aspect of it all will definitely go better than Eduardo. Time will only tell of course but I don’t see him having trouble getting back. He’ll get all the love, support and belief from the Arsenal fans that he could ever need.

Ruud was a great example of coming back from a serious injury to being top class. I also think it’s a little easier for a midfielder to recovery from one of these injuries than a striker. There is so much ego and attitude to being a top class striker that when you lose that edge you do yourself a disservice.

@ Arsefan101:

My pleasure, mate

@ Pete:
Thanks Pete!

@ Arsefan101:

Double leg fractures usually take up to around 6 months to fully recover, i.e. the bones to completely heal and be back to full strength. His leg was broken in February, so by around August time the bones should be back to normal, if they’re not already. He should have started rehabilitation exercises, so depending how his leg responds to that, he could start his fitness training September, and could be available sometime October. That’s not taking into consideration any setbacks though, however his injury sounds like it was just a simple break, so if all is going well with the recovery, we could see him avaiable around October time.

It kind of ties in with what Colin Lewin, the Arsenal physio, said on 10th May, when gave a rough estimate of “early autum” for Ramseys return:

“Aaron will make a full recovery. Other footballers have suffered a similar injury. The surgery went very well and the early signs are very good. We don’t expect Aaron to return until the early autumn. He has some metalwork in there and that provides the stability for the fracture. The specialists have encouraged him to walk and this weight-bearing will aid the fracture healing. It’s early days but the signs are very good.”

Djibril Cisse, Larsson and Totti have all played at a good standard after leg breaks.

@ Pete:
When do you think Aaron Ramsey will be back in action?