Jan Engels dreamed of a career as a professional footballer. Then the youth international sustained an injury to his foot – and a doctor’s mistake during the operation changed everything.
Jan Engels was considered a great talent and dreamed of a football career: In the U-17 Bundesliga, he had played with Karlsruher SC in the spotlight, big clubs like Bayer Leverkusen or Borussia Dortmund were interested in him. He even ran for the German national youth team. But an injury and a doctor’s mistake in 2015 broke the dream of a great career.
At that time, six years ago, 17-year-old Engels tore the syndesmosis ligament in his right foot. An injury that set him back, but one that is not uncommon in footballers. However, the subsequent operation was a much larger incision: the doctor operated on the wrong foot, the left one.
No display despite unsuccessful operation
In an interview with “Spox”, the now 23-year-old remembers the first moments after the operation: “My left leg was bandaged, screws and plates were in my left foot. At that moment I saw everything fly past me.” The surgeon had mistaken the healthy foot for the injured foot. “Then he came to my bed, talked to me and cried. At some point I said to him: ‘You did a great operation, unfortunately it was the wrong leg,'” says Engels.
Engels refrained from filing a complaint against the operating doctor: “We are all human and make mistakes.” On the same day, he was operated on again under general anesthesia to remove the screws from his left foot. A little later, the actually planned operation on the injured foot took place – again by the same doctor who had made the fatal mistake the first time.
Dream of a professional career is bursting
A mistake with consequences: Engels had to struggle with problems for a long time, had to relearn many movement sequences with two operated feet and missed the U-17 World Cup. The unsuccessful operation was also a great psychological burden. It took many years before he had confidence in his body again, says Engels in the “Spox” interview.
As a footballer, Engels has now made it to the 5th division, also played in the USA, and now plays for SG 99 Andernach in the Rhineland League. Some of his former teammates play in the Bundesliga today, but the leap into professional football was denied: “When people ask me about it, I now try to deal with it with humor, but that’s only half the story,” admits Engels at “Spox” . “On the one hand I like to make fun of it and tell myself that otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am now, on the other hand it still hurts – especially to watch players gain a foothold in the professional field. It is for me not so easy to watch Bundesliga games. “
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I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
