It was hard to watch, which is why players ran the other way and the fans covered their eyes on Tuesday night in Cleveland. But after the fact, it was hard not to talk about the gruesome injury Boston’s Gordon Hayward suffered on the NBA’s opening night.
The injury (fractured tibia and dislocated ankle) was disappointing for Celtics fans, who had been eagerly awaiting the regular-season debut of their revamped team that featured Hayward and Kyrie Irving as the new-look cornerstones. Yet most conversations turned quickly from that disappointment to sympathy for Hayward. “He must be so bummed.” “It must have hurt so much.” “What was it like for him to just be sitting there on the court with his foot facing the wrong way?”
It’s not a conversation anyone in New England wanted to have, but since we are talking about it, the Monitor decided to ask some local athletes about their recent experiences with severe sports-related injuries.
Beaudet tore the ACL and meniscus in her left knee during AAU basketball in the spring of 2016. She missed an entire year of high school sports (softball, volleyball, basketball), but is back to full strength this fall playing for the Gilford volleyball team, which just finished the regular season tied for first place in Division II. Beaudet finished the regular season with 201 kills and 223 digs, bringing her career total to 662 digs, which is second in Gilford school history.
How did the injury happen?
“I was running for the ball to save it from going out of bounds, and when I stopped my knee just kept going and popped.”
What were the first thoughts that went through your mind?
“It was weird because I’m one of those players that gets hurt and it’s not a big deal, I’ll get right back up. But when that happened I knew it was serious because I could not get up. So I was very nervous and scared, I had no idea what was going on.”
When did you get fully diagnosed?
“The trainer at the tournament didn’t think I did anything to my ACL, so I just stayed at the tournament and what’s really funny is the rest of the day I just walked on it. So I didn’t think it was anything big. … A couple days later it still felt really weird and it was kind of swollen, so I went to the doctors and it was strange because they said nothing happened to it, but it still felt like something was wrong. So I went to a different doctor, got an MRI and that showed that I tore it.”
What was your reaction when you found out the extent of the injury?
“I was so upset. I knew it was going to be a very long process and I was going to be away from sports. I was heartbroken.”
What was your rehab experience like?
“I was definitely motivated. The trainer at Gilford, Scott (Kidder), he was also my physical therapist, mainly, and he’s really good and he was working me really hard.”
What was it like to have to watch your teams play without you?
“It was very hard. When I was sitting on the bench next to my basketball coach he would always say, ‘We need a shooter, we need a shooter,’ and I’m one of the main shooters for Gilford, so I would get so upset. I would just look down at my feet. I tried my hardest to cheer everyone on, but it was so hard I just couldn’t look most of the time.”
Have you learned anything or grown through this process?
“I think I have because after waiting so long you have to learn patience and strength. You have to know that when you come back you’ll be stronger than ever. And then you just always have to put yourself out there.”
When you saw Hayward’s injury, did it remind you of your own?
“It did, a lot, especially since it was the first game for him and for me it was only the second tournament when I was playing AAU. I wasn’t watching (Hayward’s injury live), but I saw it the next morning. It’s just terrible.”
Menard, who was the MVP for the Pembroke boys’ basketball team last season, went up for a rebound in the Spartans first-round playoff game against Manchester West on March 8, landed awkwardly and tore the ACL in his left knee. He had surgery to repair the knee about a month later and is still going through the rehabilitation process.
Did you realize something was wrong right away?
“Right when it happened I felt my knee bend the wrong way and as soon as that happened, I knew something wasn’t right. And I just collapsed to the floor and kind of gave out a war cry. … That was the most pain I’ve ever felt.
What happened next?
“I was initially carried off by two people and then they had me walk to the training room for a little distance and I could just feel my knee wobbling from side to side.”
What did you think when the doctor diagnosed the torn ACL?
“It was pretty demoralizing. They said it would probably take a year to get back to 100 percent. That was pretty shocking, I didn’t know it would be that serious.”
What was your leg like before you started physical therapy? Were the muscles all atrophied?
“Big time. It was like I had flaps of skin on my leg.”
Tell me about your physical therapy.
“I finished the first part of my physical therapy about a month ago. I went twice a week and it was getting the range of motion back in my leg because it was all swollen and tight from the surgery, and strengthening my quad and hamstring and calf. Now I’m starting a return to sports program. It’s basically like advanced physical therapy, doing more heavy work and getting ready to actually play sports, cutting and stuff like that.”
Has it been hard to stay motivated through the rehab process?
“It was definitely a long process, but I was always in the gym with my teammates at their (AAU) practices and stuff, so I never lost motivation.”
Were you watching the Celtics game when Hayward’s injury happened?
“Yeah, I was with my teammates watching it.”
What was everybody’s reaction?
“When we heard the announces say the leg was broken and they cut to him and you could see his foot like turned sideways, we just got silent. We were all eating and we all just stopped eating. We were in shock.”
Valliere figured to be a key part of MV’s offensive and defensive lines this season. Before that could happen, he fractured his right fibula and sprained his right ankle during a preseason scrimmage. He was on crutches for two weeks before being put in a walking boot, which he just shed about a week ago, and he should be starting physical therapy some time soon.
How did it happen?
I was on the line and blocking somebody with my center and I guess someone got behind me and I don’t know if they tripped or something, but they landed right on the back of my ankle as I was trying to block.
What was your initial reaction?
“I didn’t think it was too serious because it didn’t hurt too bad, so I was focusing on going back into the game, but my coaches wouldn’t let me. So they sent me to the trainer and they said that I had a sprained ankle and a bruised bone and that I’d be out for the rest camp, so I was kind of angry about that because I thought I would be going back in. And when I got my x-ray they said I would be out for the season.”
What was your reaction to that news?
“It was awful. Just an awful feeling in general. I was looking forward to it so much and I really wanted to get out on the field and play an actual game.”
How are you feeling now?
“There’s a tiny pain, but I feel like that’s going to go away soon. So I’m just getting used to walking on my ankle again because it’s really different.”
Have you tried to stay part of the team? Is it tough to be on the sidelines?
“I’ve gone to every game and I go to the practices a lot. It sucks because I want to be out there helping them, but you can’t really do anything. I cheer them on and I do the best that I can, but it’s hard.”
Has this experience changed you at all, have you learned anything?
“Definitely. I never actually got a football injury that’s taken me out. I’ve gotten little dings and scratches here and there, but I always went back into the game. I’ve never had something this serious, so it’s something that I’ll try to learn from and and hopefully I’ll learn how to prevent in the future.”
What was your reaction when you saw Hayward’s injury?
“Ugghhh. It was just nasty looking. I was just like, ‘That poor guy. That hurt. A lot.’”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)