Brecht Dejaegere's hamstring injury

By Andrew Crowell

Photo Courtesy of Cisco's Art

Charlotte’s Summer signing Brecht Dejaegere went off in the 13th minute in Charlotte’s 1-1 draw against Orlando on August 30th. He was clutching his hamstring but the extent of the injury will not be clear until Dejaegere undergoes more testing and an MRI. In a press conference after the game head coach Christian Lattanzio noted that Dejaegere was walking which hopefully points to this injury not being too serious.

Hamstring injuries often occur during quick powerful movements generated by the lower body, such as sprinting, shooting, or jumping in soccer. In the case of Dejaegere, the injury seemed to happen when he powered up a shot on goal.

Anatomy of the hamstring muscles involves three muscles that run along the back side of the thigh: the semitendinosus, the semimembranosus, and the biceps femoris muscle. The term ‘hamstring’ can also refer to the tendons that attach these muscles to the bones of the leg. An injury to these muscles can be in three different grades, with increasing severity based on the grade. Grade 1 hamstring injuries involve a minor pull or strain, grade 2 involves a partial tear of the muscle, and grade 3 involves a complete tear of the muscle. The hope for Dejaegere is that it is a grade 1 hamstring injury but nothing will be confirmed until the proper tests are performed.

The biggest concern for hamstring injuries is not rushing back into activity, as reinjury is very common. Once a player has suffered a hamstring tear they are more prone to future incidents.

Estimated downtime based on current information: 1-2 Weeks

*DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and my work should never be taken as medical advice. All opinions are my own.