Quote: Jack Burton "How long does this type of injury take to heal? 3-6 months?'"
6 months at best I think. Just reading surgeons report when Henrik Larsson did his tib and fib -:
The fact that both bones in the lower leg - the tibia and the fibula - are broken is not necessarily of great significance.
''The bones are parallel so if you get significant displacement you usually break both,'' Mr Ian Stother, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Glasgow Royal infirmary, explained last night.
''One of the more important points is that if the skin is not broken, there is little risk of infection.
''The degree of displacement is important because of the extent of injury to soft tissue, like muscle and ligament, which would result. Obviously this is important to a footballer and would dictate how strong the leg became when it healed.''
The usual method of treating a fracture of this sort is to splint the tibia from within using a ''nail'' - a stainless steel rod which is inserted from the top of the bone down through the hollow interior, often retained with screws above and below the fracture.
''That holds the position very well, maintaining the right length and alignment better than a plaster, and the fibula can take care of itself. You can't do it if the break is near one of the joints, but whatever you do the healing process takes several months.
''What you would do with Larsson is put the nail in, have him lying down for a few days to get the swelling down, and then get him up, put some weight on it, and then start to get him moving and get the joints operating. The actual time for the fracture to heal to the point where you can start training, for most people as young and fit as Larsson, would be about six months, although if I were treating someone who did not depend on football for their living, I would tell them not to play for a year. The leg is not going to be up to its full strength for 18 months.''
This was a good few years ago and recovery times might be better now but looks like 6-8 months minimum. He'll be back!