Chronic Injury Quotes

I've had calf problems for many years, and it has been very difficult for me because I've played out of position, which means more sprints. Ten minutes into the game, I've not been able to feel my feet in a few games. I didn't like to go to the media and say, 'I am injured.'

My injuries are more due to attrition than accidents. I have a couple of herniated discs in my neck, and that more than anything else - I had a flare-up last December, and I had actually made the decision to retire before that, but that just cemented the choice. I was flat on my back.

The new disease was named chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and the NFL fervently and repeatedly denied that such a thing had anything to do with the league or its players.

If you get operated, something can go wrong and you can just say bye-bye to tennis. That's what happened to a lot of soccer players in Europe. They get operated, some things, it's not the mistake of the doctor. It's just some surgeries, they just don't go the right way...My injury will never go away. It's already become so chronic there's no chance to fix it so I can play without pain.

But in 2000, the injuries really started to kick in and my elbow gave a lot of problems. At the end of the year I had to take 20 months off before I could come back into the game.

The most frustrating thing about injuries is that they take so bloody long to heal.

As the National Football League and other pro sports increasingly reckon with the early dementia, mental health issues, suicides and even criminal behavior of former players, the risk of what's known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), is becoming clear.

Your body has this instinct to start healing and then you go back to work and it hurts even more. It's almost better to keep your body messed-up on a consistent basis.

My knees have just gotten to the point where they just get beat up.