Alex Fisher feared he might lose a foot after a horror injury – but the ex-Inverness striker is firmly on course for a full recovery.
The 32-year-old, who played for ICT in the Premiership between January 2016 and June 2017, made national headlines following a serious injury sustained when playing for Yeovil Town in a National League game in April.
He collided with Southend goalkeeper Andeng Ndi, who was visibly shaken by the result of the impact.
The original concerns were that it was a severely damaged ankle, but Fisher explained: “I broke my tibia and fibula quite badly. They thought it was my ankle, but it was just above.
“I describe it as a good-bad one, because I have no ligament damage on my ankle and no ligament damage on my knee. It was probably as bad as you could get bone-wise.
“The perk is I have full mobility in terms of moving around. I actually have something not many people have.
“It’s called an external fixator attached, which is a frame screwed into my tibia just below my knee and just above my ankle. It allowed me to weight-bear immediately after the operation.
“The swelling and the pain in the first couple of weeks is too much. But this means you can weight-bear and carry on about your normal life relatively soon, whilst allowing the serious break to heal. It saves me being bed-bound or in a cast for three or four months.
Frame allowed chance to play again
“The preferred option is where you get a rod which goes through knee and into your ankle through the hollow part of the bone, which is quite a standard operation for these kinds of breaks. You see them more often with car accidents or with injuries in the manufacturing industries for example.
“I have a bit of a bow-leg and they are not necessarily the widest, so it was a risk, so it was either the cast – which would mean I probably wouldn’t play football again – or the frame.
“Now, the frame can be tweaked. It’s got adjustable straps, so that if it’s not healing straight, which fortunately it has the whole way through, you have flexibility with it and it’s a natural heal. It means no rods in for life.
“I walked for the first time three days after the op, drove 10 days after and walked nine holes four weeks after. The more weight-bearing you can do with it, the better.
“In reality, I shouldn’t even be walking for another two months. It’s been a humbling experience for sure, but there are still lots of things to be positive about.”
🟢
No one should need reminding what an amazing service the NHS is but my goodness this did just that! I've had 2 X-rays, a CT scan, an operation, a bed for 7 days, 3 meals a day, assistance at the press of a button, a transfer between hospitals, physio and an aftercare plan!
— Alex Fisher (@AlexFisher37) April 6, 2023
Fisher ‘should make a full recovery’
And that positivity is aided by his latest chat with the medical professionals, who have confirmed he is set for a stunning full recovery which could see him back in a Yeovil shirt before winter.
He said: “I had some good news on my recent scan. My frame was meant to be on for six to eight months. It might be off as soon as three-and-a-half.
“I am booked back in for the middle of July. It doesn’t necessarily bring my end time (for the recovery) forward, but these are good signs.
“I have been pretty religious with my diet and recovery to make sure I am getting in the best position possible.
“It’s reassuring to hear from the surgeons that I should be back like nothing happened. It’s not like a tissue injury where you might lose some flexibility or range.
“It is literally a clean heal. As long as I can match my rehab to ensure my surrounding muscles and anatomy are as strong as can be, so I won’t have any compensating issues, I should hopefully be making a full recovery.
“There was a time in the first 12 hours or so when (the medics) thought I could even have lost my foot.
“These injuries happen in all walks of life, but the nerve damage they thought I might have had, along with the lack of circulation to my toes was quite concerning for those first few hours.
“One it started to improve, I thought ‘thank goodness’, because it was an unnerving conversation to have, when you realise that (foot amputation) is a possibility.”
💚 Speedy recovery, @AlexFisher37 pic.twitter.com/W3JZUx8Hnh
— Yeovil Town F.C. (@YTFC) April 1, 2023
Yeovil Town target instant return
The only downside for Fisher is his club are now a National League South side, having finished 22nd in the 24-club division and dropped into National League South.
He added: “You can’t get relegated unless you are putting in consistent performances over the course of a season.
“There were certain things going on behind the scenes which have been ironed out and there is new ownership, which we hope will provide a new lease of life for the club.
“When you are a club like Yeovil, with good pedigree, and you’ve been staying League Two and Conference level for a couple of years, you can’t just click your fingers and think you deserve to be in League One, but the club certainly don’t deserve to be in National League South.
“We want to bounce back as quickly as possible.”
Conversation