Kneez

I cringed and felt sick as the right knee of Zlatan Ibrahimovic sort of doubled back on itself. It was an awkward landing after challenging for an aerial ball in this weeks Europa League match.

The nausea was not induced by a partisan support for Manchester United. I should make that clear from the start. Zlatan, well, I like him as a player and, from what I know of him, for his contribution to football in his home country Sweden and globally as a superstar.

For him is the prospect of a long layoff from his livelihood, the frustration of a painful weight bearing existence for the duration of healing, not being able to drive, the thought of many hours of boredom from a lifetime of unfettered routine and responsibilities.

I expect that he will miss the smallest of things like jumping in the car and going to the shops or an early hours raid on the healthier contents of the fridge.

Perhaps Zlatan could benefit from my current experience for I am some 8 days into a similar enforced convalescence for an injury to the same right leg.

I cannot compete with the circumstances of his misfortune.

His was in front of about 70,000 in the Stadium and millions more on TV. Mine was all of my own work.

The heroic leap as part of the front line of attack of his team does not compare with my ungainly slip and loss of footing whilst carrying out a typical daily workload.

He lay prone on the hallowed turf of that Theatre of Dreams, Old Trafford. I found myself resting against the wall of a bungalow.

The homeowners, alerted to my accident by a phone call even though they were only some 10 feet or so away indoors , were on the scene as quickly, I would say, as the Manchester United trainer and medic.

Zlatan's injury is feared to be to his anterior cruciate ligament, a heavy use component of the knee.

My diagnosis after X-Ray, a bit of Junior Doctor poking about and an MRI scan was of a ruptured quadricep ligament.

That, in my mind, puts me and Zlatan in the same sort of medical category with a long recovery to be anticipated. I have the luxury of being at home after the operation to re-attach the tendon and attended to for my every need and whim by my family. It is a strange time for all of us in our house and immediate environment, a sort of limbo from our normal existence.

I am determined however to be a good patient. Any unnecessary stress or distress to my dressed and braced leg is to be avoided. I feel that I can cope with the physical aspects of my recovery but perhaps more trying is keeping my mind active and alert.

I have developed a bit of a routine in this first phase and this may have some benefits to Zlatan in his own strategy to offset tedium and boredom. I cannot sleep very well in the locked straight leg brace and so after a fitful four or so hours I am awake and thoughtful in the early hours. I breakfast on porridge, fruit smoothie and green tea before a couple of hours of listening to Radio Four Extra whilst still in bed.

First attempts at movement are into the spare bedroom for mid morning reading and a few podcasts covering my favourite topics of history and the spoken word in general.

Lunch is a light soup and some fruit before a lap top session to catch up on my e mails from work (which still goes on in my absence), checking reports and papers dropped off by my work colleagues for later return and researching my daily blog.

Tea time arrives quickly after such concentrated effort and then it is the evening routine. I resist the temptation of a quick snooze at any time so as to sleep a bit better. An hour or so of writing is the most therapeutic period of the day for me.

My treat after this is a movie, either a re-run of an old favourite, a catch-up of a classic that I have forgotten about or just not got around to seeing or a pot luck choice of the thousands on demand.

I expect that Zlatan will have a number of his own specific interests to pursue during his convalescence and will find a routine to suit himself. My mobile phone is just by my day-bed to keep in touch with family, friends and acquaintances although if I go through the day without it ringing I am not disappointed.

Perhaps Zlatan might want to give me a call for a chat and to compare notes on our respective recoveries.

I could reserve a little bit of the early afternoon for such things, possibly if not otherwise busy.