Last update - 00:00 10/10/2007
Basketball / Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Garden / In his shoes
By Yoav Borowitz
Tomorrow night, Maccabi Tel Aviv will play - for the first time in its history - against the New York Knicks. For most basketball players, a game at Madison Square Garden would be a dream come true; at this stage in his career, Tal Burstein would just be happy to play a game.
Maccabi's guard for the past seven years, and one the team's outstanding players at the end of last season, has been suffering from excruciating pains in both his ankles - and no one is willing to bet on when he'll be back in action. Burstein is due to undergo further tests today in Baltimore, at the hands of one of the leading orthopedic experts in the world, Prof. Mark Meyerson. Burstein was referred to Meyerson by Prof. Meir Niska, who operated on Burstein's Achilles tendon last season. Burstein's operation was described as a success, but since then the pains in his ankles have not let up and got worse over the summer. "Tal can run in water or walk in flip-flops," say Maccabi insiders, "but the moment he puts on shoes, the pains return." The pain stems, they say, from an inflammation that has developed in the joint between the Achilles heel and the ankle.
Opinions are divided on the best way to deal with the inflammation. Those close to the player hope that Meyerson will alleviate some of the uncertainty. "Give Tal another day or two," they say, "then we'll know more. In Israel, everyone is trying to speculate about what will happen with him and everyone is telling him something different. That's the worst part about it. You don't know where to turn and who to listen to - and Tal has been listening to everyone. Those people who accused Tal of not trying when he was on the national team roster during the vacation owe him an apology."
Burstein had hoped that the summer vacation would give him time to strengthen the injured area and to start the season properly, but when he tried to train with the rest of the Maccabi squad at the opening training session of the new season, he realized that would not be possible.
"Tal felt fine, and he arrived at the training session full of energy and full of motivation, but the moment he put on his shoes, his face was distorted with pain. Dr. Menachem Zinger, a senior orthopedic surgeon at Wolfson Medical Center and a former student of Niska, explains the issue of the inflammation. "A basketball shoe, because of the structure and height, applies pressure on the back of the tendon - which can increase friction between the tendon and the 'cushion' which pads the area between the external section and the bone." Concern for Burstein's future in even greater when one takes into account the fact the he not only has to deal with this inflammation, but also with an Achilles tendon that underwent an operation after he tore it. "It is important to understand that the tendon never returns to its original shape," says Zinger. "When there is a tear, the tendon - which is made up of fibers - is scarred and sometimes the tendon does not heal properly. That is when the leg loses some of its strength."