How Kwesi Appiah's ACL Injury derailed his Premier League chances

How Kwesi Appiah's ACL Injury Derailed his Premier League Chances

Ghanaian international and 2015 AFCON finalist Kwesi Appiah has opened up on how an ACL injury right as his form was peaking changed the entire trajectory of his career.

Following his second loan stint at League Two Cambridge United, Appiah was a surprise name included in the list of players called up for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament (AFCON).

While he didn’t play a minute of the first two games, he finally got on the pitch in a substitute appearance in the Black Stars final, must-win group game, and helped swing the game in his nation's favour, as he proved to be a driving force in a comeback 2-1 win.

“I was pivotal in getting the energy right in the team getting the momentum back,” said Appiah, who impressed then manager Avram Grant to such an extent that he would start all three of Ghana’s knockout games.

He would score his only goal for his national side in the quarter final, and he would also witness first hand the agonising 0-0 draw in the final to Cote d’Ivoire, which Ghana would lose in a dramatic penalty shootout that finished 9-8.

“If not for injury, I would have played in the Prem (Premier League), and I’m not just saying that. I just feel like the trajectory I was on, that was the next step, that was it.”

Upon his return from Ghana’s AFCON exploits, Appiah’s next loan move saw him jump up two division’s as he joined Championship side Reading, an indication of the recognition he had received thanks to contributing to Ghana’s run to the final.

However, just four months after returning from the tournament, Appiah seriously damaged his anterior cruciate ligament amongst others, while once again on international duty with Ghana, and this notoriously serious injury would prevent him from playing in a competitive game for the best part of a year, with various nuances of the injury not clearing up until two years later.

“It was a freak injury - I literally jumped for a header and as I landed, the ground was so soft that the landing (zone) became two or three inches lower - so where I braced for that impact, I went further down and jolted my knee. I was just like ‘you can’t do nothing about that’.”

Surprisingly, in an approach not typical of the modern day footballer, Appiah is at peace with injury, and doesn’t see it as something that disrupted his path.

“I’m not mad that I didn’t play in the Prem - if when I was younger I had written down all these goals - must do this, must do that - then maybe I’d be a little bit more wounded about it, but I’m very proud of my journey.”

Despite the injury, Appiah’s relaxed approach to how the injury affected him had seen him string together a more than impressive career, which has spanned four countries, and includes 85 professional goals.

“The injury definitely came at a bad time, but after that it was also hard to get back to where I was, because ACL and LCL (lateral collateral ligament) are the two main ligaments in the knee, so from that point of view, it’s always going to be a tough road after that.”

Eventually, two years after the injury, Appiah would return to the professional field, as parent club Crystal Palace loaned him out to Norwegian top flight side Vikings in 2017.