Tomas Soucek appears to have dodged a serious injury during the Czech Republic’s World Cup exit in Mexico with West Ham United breathing a sigh of relief.
There were fears that Soucek had ruptured his ACL when he hit the turf in agony during a nightmare 3-0 defeat for Miroslav Koubek’s home-bound team at the Azteca.
West Ham United’s long-serving box-crasher attempted to close down a clearance deep into the second half. In doing so, he landed awkwardly and had to be stretchered off.
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If his worst fears had been confirmed, Tomas Soucek was looking at somewhere between nine and twelve months on the sidelines. Former West Ham teammate Angelo Ogbonna knows only too well how difficult it is returning to your peak levels after an injury such as this in your 30s.
Much to the relief of club, country and the man himself, however, Soucek may just have dodged a lengthy spell on the treatment table.
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Pavel Nedved, the General Manager and Technical Director of the Czech Republic national team, confirmed as much in an interview with CT Sport. The 2003 Ballon D’Or winner admits there is some damage to the ligaments, but ‘it could have been much worse’.
“[The injury to] Tomas Soucek looked terrible on TV, but he has no fracture,” says Nedved. “There is ligament damage, but it could have been much worse.”
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It remains to be seen how long the former Slavia Prague captain will spend on the sidelines.
Soucek was torn on his West Ham future, admitting that a fresh start in Italy holds some appeal. But if the injury is due to keep him out for a couple of months rather than a handful of weeks, this may put off any potential suitors.
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