Aaron Long

In May 2021, I went up for a header in a match against the Philadelphia Union. As I landed, I immediately fell to floor and felt pain throughout my right ankle. When I tried to get up, I soon realized that I could not put any weight on my right foot and had to be helped off the field. That was a scary moment. After the game Dr. Riley Williams, sports medicine surgeon at HSS and the Red Bulls medical director, let me know the unfortunate news that I had ruptured my Achilles tendon and would be out for the year. I was devastated and couldn’t believe I was going to miss the remainder of the MLS season as well as important international matches with the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) that were coming up during the following 12 months.

Soon after the injury Dr. Williams and I decided that Dr. Martin O’Malley, a foot ankle surgeon at HSS, would be the best person to handle my surgery. Throughout the entire process Dr. O’Malley went out of his way to make me and my entire family feel relaxed during a very scary moment in our lives.

After only a couple days post-surgery, Dr. O’Malley had me begin my rehab process. First with some at-home workouts then moving onto physical therapy. From the start I was motivated to come back as soon as possible and kept myself ahead of schedule the entire time. My end goal was to be able to return to my original form and make the 2022 US World Cup roster.

After 8 months of recovery, in January 2022, I began to train again at full speed with the USMNT and was also named the New York Red Bulls captain. Thanks to Dr. Williams and Dr. O’Malley I was able to return to full health and had the honor of being named to the 2022 MLS All-Star team while leading the New York Red Bulls to the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. I can’t thank HSS enough for repairing my Achilles and helping me get Back in the Game. Without HSS, I would not be where I am today.