**Pakistan hockey star undergoes surgery at Apollo
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By Indian Express
Thursday January 11, 01:12 AM
Former vice-captain Muddasar Ali is receiving treatment for a torn cruciate ligament
SPORTs, they say, brings countries together. This time it’s a sportsman who is playing a role in fostering India-Pakistan ties. Pakistan hockey team vice-captain Muddasar Ali Khan is in India these days receiving treatment for a torn cruciate ligament, at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.
The 27-year-old injured his leg while playing the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament at Kuala Lumpur in June last year. Said Khan: “I had initially thought of going to Spain for the treatment. I even consulted a few doctors there but discovered that the treatment available in India was better. It took me long to decide where to go for the surgery. Many doctors in Pakistan recommended me to go to India. I surfed the net and the information I got about the quality of hospitals and treatment here convinced me to get my surgery done in India.”
Khan underwent an interior cruciate ligament surgery at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital on Thursday. Doctors attending the player assured that he was doing fine and would be discharged soon. However, he will have to wait for another three months to get back into action. “His cruciate ligament was found torn from the femoral attachment (thigh bone). It’s a common injury among football, baseball and hockey players. For the surgery we used bio-screws which will not interfere during the MRI. Khan can walk comfortably now but will have to wait for another three months before getting back into the game,” said Dr Rajeev K Sharma, senior consultant, Orthopaedics and joint replacement surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo.
It’s not easy for Khan, who has been away from the game for six months now, to sit back and watch his teammates in action. “It’s heartbreaking for a sports person to be off the field during the matches. It was during our match against South Korea when the goalkeeper pushed me from back and I fell down, injuring my leg. Since then I have missed the Champions Trophy, the World Cup and the Asian Games in Doha. I have been playing since 1999 and this is the first time that an injury has kept me away from the game for so long. I am really disappointed,” he said.
Satisfied with the treatment he received at Apollo, Khan said he will go back with fond memories from India. “I have been here for matches a number of times, but this was the first time I came here for a treatment. It just felt like being at home. I am thankful to the doctors here. I will go back with fond memories and would love to come back for sightseeing next time,” he said. Khan might be the first hockey player from Pakistan to seek treatment in India but the Apollo hospital is not new to patients coming from Pakistan. “We have been getting patients from Pakistan since 2004. While earlier they had to go to other developed countries for treatments, they have started coming here now. It’s not just the money factor that brings patients here. When they go back, they take along the spirit of the country and help in developing relations between the two countries,” said Dr Sharma.