Jalen Wells Survives Six Years of Basketball Injuries

Jalen Wells

Jalen Wells, a communication sophomore at Southwestern, has had an injury somewhere on his body for six consecutive years due to basketball.

Wells’ first injury in basketball was a severe concussion. He had been shooting hoops, and he didn’t realize that they had recently cleaned the court. He slipped on a section of the floor that was still wet, flipped over, landed on his head, and got a third-degree concussion. The next year, he tore his left meniscus when he landed badly, causing his knee to buckle in the wrong direction, tearing the tissue in his kneecap. Following that injury, a guy with long nails reached for the ball in one game at the same time that Wells did, and ended up slicing Well’s pinkie finger in half.

The next year, Wells accidently forgot to wear two pairs of socks during practice. He stubbed his big right toe. As a result, he had to wear tape around his stubbed toe for two weeks. One of his most serious injuries to date occurred when he completely severed and tore his Achilles tendon on his right foot. He had to have an emergency surgery the following morning and was in a cast for three weeks, then splinted for two more. Finally, he was placed in a boot for six weeks, and from there he stayed in physical rehabilitation for six months.

The craziest of his injuries happened right after he got out of rehabilitation! Four weeks after being released from physical therapy, while starting to play basketball again, another player stepped on his left foot, causing it to get the exact same injury as his right foot that he had just recovered from, a severed and torn Achilles tendon. Thankfully, that foot healed a lot faster than the first one.

Wells insists that he has learned his lessons, however. “I plan to take extreme precautions when it comes to exercising and athletics as I now understand the importance of stretching and making sure my body feels good before,” he says.

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