Gary Cahill Villa Return Due

What is a meniscus? There are two menisci in your knee; each rests between the thigh bone (femur) and shin bone (tibia). The menisci are made of tough cartilage and conform to the surfaces of the bones upon which they rest. One meniscus rests on the medial tibial plateau; this is the medial meniscus. The other meniscus rests on the lateral tibial plateau, the lateral meniscus. What does the meniscus do? These meniscus functions to distribute your body weight across the knee joint. Without the meniscus present, the weight of your body would be unevenly applied to the bones in your legs (the femur and tibia). This uneven weight distribution would cause excessive forces in specific areas of bone leading to early arthritis of knee joint. Therefore, the function of the meniscus is critical to the health of your knee. So in English its a torn cartilage

dudleyphil, i've got a pain in my lower back, whats your medical opinion?

Dunno bobbyfett use google like everyone else

DudleyPhill, can you go on the Newcastle site and speak to 'geordie boys'........ his head would explode:-)

This boy put the biggest smile on my face last season. Glad he is on the mend

Whilst Cahills return is great news for the squad this is my thoughts on the pairing in central defence. For those who think that Laursen is just a big stopper, you are so very wrong. If he plays he gives the team so much more. He reads the game. He gives us ariel strength. He nearly always plays the ball forward to feet with pace, unlike a lot of centre halfs who tend to 'lump' the ball forward. He also has the ability to contribute 4 or 5 goals a season. I do not think it was a coincidence that we were such a threat from free kicks on Sunday. Any team trying to mark Mellberg, Angel, Ridgewell and Laursen, with two sniffers around in Moore and Gabbi (it's easier than spelling Agbonlahor) will have problems. However I have said it before, the best central defensive partnerships work together as a team. Ridgewell is the only left sided central defender at the club. So although he may not be the best (though that is a matter of opinion) he has to be part of any partnership. Cahill, Mellberg and Laursen are all naturally right sided. It is not simply a case of saying Laursen and Mellberg are the best individuals so they must play together. In the same way that Gerrard and Lampard can not work together in central midfield despite probably being the best individuals for the role. I am unsure of how best to fit everybody in when fit, but that is a problem that M'ON gets £2 million a year to work out and is a problem that our club has not had for years. When all are fit we have two reasonable players for every position. Happy days so buy your season tickets.