Archie Meekison has hailed Dundee United for sparing no expense in a bid to get to the bottom of his “unique” knee complaint.
Meekison suffered a torn lateral collateral ligament (LCL) earlier this season, with the Scotland U21 starlet revealing that the Tangerines’ medical staff had never seen a setback of its type.
That sort of injury is usually accompanied by damage to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or medial cruciate ligament (MCL) and, while he is grateful “it was 11 weeks rather than 11 months”, it did require elite advice.
“After the Inverness away game in September, I twisted my knee the wrong way and I felt it go,” said Meekison.
“We started treating it as a low strain in the LCL and did a four-week rehab. Then in the session before I was due to return to training, I took a shot, and it went again. We got that scanned and I had torn my LCL.
“The club have done everything for me. They sent me down to London and made sure I got the best advice and treatment available in the UK before making the decision not to go with surgery.
“The acute injury I had was unique and a little strange for the physios and specialists. Marsh (Marcin Szosztak), our physio, hadn’t seen an injury like it and that meant a little research needed done.”
Jersey joke
Despite initial fears that surgery would be required, PRP (Platelet-rich plasma) injections were deemed the best course of action, and Meekison is adamant he has felt a swift benefit.
Meekison made his long-awaited comeback last Friday night, helping United to a 1-0 win at Inverness.
“When I went down there, the specialist had seen three (LCL issues) that day – so although it was unique to us, in the big scheme of things, they actually see a good few,” Meekison continued. “He knew the situation, exactly.
“He works with all the English Premier League clubs and when you go into his specialist room, you see all the signed shirts from the teams he has worked with. He’s definitely the top man!”
He added: “There’s no United shirt up there, yet. If I was to send him one, I think he’d be like, “who?” No, I’m very thankful to United for sending me to someone like that and getting me the right advice.”
Most challenging yet
And Meekison is evidently desperate to make up for lost time.
Even prior to his knee issues, Meekison was tormented by knocks and niggles, impeding his ability to make a big impact in what he believed would be a huge season for his development.
“It’s been the most mentally challenging season of my career,” he continued. “With us dropping back into the Championship, it was a big season for me; wanting to play as many games as possible.
“I’ve been unlucky to miss as many games as I have, but I’ve got the whole second half of the season to make up that lost time. I want to play as much as possible now that I’m back fit.
“Just being back on the training pitch and around the team makes me feel good about everything.”
He is similarly buoyed by the support of United manager Jim Goodwin who, throughout the player’s absence, made it clear that he sees the youngster as a top talent.
Meekison added: “The gaffer has been brilliant with me throughout the rehab, being patient enough to make sure the recovery period is done properly – while reassuring me that, when I do come back, I’ll get the chance to kick on from where I was before.”
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