Antonio Valencia and Bobby Zamora's Injury Updates

As a footballer writhes in pain on the fresh green grass that they had been standing on only minutes earlier, it is terrible to think what the next few months of rehabilitation for both mental and physical issues will be like for them. A broken, fractured or dislocated bone is extremely painful for anyone, but for those who rely on their legs to earn them a living (granted, a very good one), such as footballers, it must be even more distressing.

Both Bobby Zamora and Antonio Valencia know the feeling, as both have recently suffered awful injuries that will rule them out, very unfortunately, for a while.

It has been confirmed that Bobby Zamora will be out for about five months after he had an operation on his broken fibula that he sustained in Fulhams 2 - 1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers last Saturday.

Zamora's manager Mark Hughes said:

"Bobby will now be in bed with his leg elevated for two weeks. The operation showed ligament damage so we're probably now looking at five months. We want to help Bobby get back quickly and there are no concerns over his ability to get back to the level he was before he got injured."

The injury is even more cruel to the striker as he had just recently made his debut for England after years of trying. His progress and recent good form will now be interrupted by this unfortunate incident.

Antonio Valencia suffered significant ligament damage as well as a fractured ankle in an injury similar to that of Alan Smith when the now Newcastle man played for United against Liverpool. The winger underwent surgery yesterday after the injury was suffered against Rangers in the Champions League.

The good news for Manchester United fans is that, according the a United spokesperson, the operation went well, however he will still be out for a good portion of the season with a plate inserted to stabilise the fracture.

Sir Alex Ferguson had initially said that Valencia would probably miss the rest of the season with his injury, however, this might not be the case with the operation being such a success.

Both tackles that led to the broken fibula's of Zamora and Valencia seemed routine and not at all dangerous, but rather the studs were caught in the grass which led to the leg being dragged in an awkward direction - the momentum taking it further forward and doing the damage.