By Uche Amunike
Successful Nigerian Rapper and Activist, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, has opened up on his onerous ordeal through a knee surgery he underwent on May 2, 2023 at a medical facility in London, United Kingdom as a result of a knee injury he sustained in November, 2022.
According to the talented rapper, actor and activist son of Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana, it was a tough time for him as his knee ‘kind of scattered’ as a result of the injury. He took to his Instagram page and narrated his ordeal and the challenges that came with it. He explained how his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) was injured and how he was advised to go in for surgery to have it fixed after his MRI result confirmed the extent of damage.
His words: ‘Today is the 26th of November 2022. I am walking with a little bit of a limp. Few days ago, on the 23rd, I went to play football and I sustained a knee injury. This is November 30, 2022. About a week since I tore my ACL. To be honest I didn’t know what the hell happened on the day. I just knew it felt really painful. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) result came back and it showed that it is a complete tear on my ACL. I have been advised to go into surgery to fix it.’
‘It was a very difficult time for me. I had ACL reconstruction surgery. Your ACL is like a ligament that holds your knee together. What actually happened is that that ligament tore totally. So the knee kind of scattered.’
‘It was an actual football injury. I was just running and the thing just comot like that. I don’t know how it happened because I have been playing football since I was a child. And everything was going smoothly. Maybe on that fateful day, I didn’t stretch well.’
‘But it always happens. It’s a slightly common injury for athletes. I’m glad I’m back. I’m up and running now. It’s a one-time surgery. Now I’m in rehab doing physiotherapy. Just exercising and trying to build the muscle back to 100 per cent.’
Falz underwent the surgery which lasted for one hour and thirty minutes. It turned out successful and he posted on his Instagram handle: ‘Current situation. It’s a whole journey to being 100% back. Say a prayer for me.’
In a recent interview with Cool FM, Falz asserted that part of the reason for his injury was his passion and involvement in football and other sports. When asked if he would undergo any more surgery, he explained that the physiotherapy sessions he was undergoing were quite intensive and a good procedure for full recovery.
During the interview, Falz joked that he was so good that other players attempted to undermine and remove him from the team as a result of their envy of his superb striker skills.
