Volleyball player and MMA fighter, BBBs Key Alves and Cara de Sapato suffer from injuries; understand

BBB23 started with the presence of two athletes: Key Alves plays volleyball as a libero in Osasco, and Antônio “Cara de Sapato” is an MMA fighter. But the two have more in common than the fact that they are sportsmen: both are out of action because of injuries that forced them to take a break from their careers — and that could harm them in the most physical tests of the program. Find out what they are.

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In October 2022, Key tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee, an injury that is up to six times more common in female athletes than males. Initially, the club’s official note indicated that the player would undergo knee surgery, which would make her miss the rest of the season, which extends until the middle of 2023, but Key and his team opted for a more conservative treatment, with physiotherapy. The choice was made for a more conservative treatment, with physiotherapy, so that the athlete had a faster recovery time and could return to the courts as soon as possible.

On social media, Osasco wished the player well and fans also expressed their support for the athlete’s speedy recovery. “Stay strong, Key! Your strength and determination will make all the difference right now!”, wrote the club’s profile.

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The fighter already accumulates a history of injuries. In 2018, he ranked 15th in the UFC middleweight rankings after winning five consecutive fights, but suffered a torn pectoral muscle and spent more than a year without entering the ring. On the way back, still without rhythm in 2019, he was unable to continue the good fights and lost two matches in a row. In an interview with a magazine specialized in UFC, Tatame, he told a little about the injury.

— I rushed a little into the fight against Ian Heinisch, I came back ahead of time. As I was coming from a very good sequence of victories, I was very confident and with a lot of will to fight, but I was going through some personal problems and also had the pectoral injury, I wasn’t 100% yet. It was rash of me to come back and I hope I don’t repeat that mistake when I come back from that knee injury.

But the bad luck didn’t stop there: in 2020, like Key, the fighter also broke the ACL in his knee. He was scheduled to fight Russian middleweight Makhmud Muradov in March, but had to postpone it to undergo surgery and recovery. At the end of the year, in December, he returned to the otcogon at UFC 257, against American Brad Tavares, but lost the fight, and in January 2021, he was cut from the UFC.

From then on, Cara de Sapato returned to MMA, and competed in the PFL (Professional Fighters League) championship in the United States. He was champion of the season with six wins, his most important career title. In 2022, when the fighter was already campaigning for the second championship, he injured his knee again and underwent another surgery. He made a text on social networks explaining to fans about what happened.

“Unfortunately I’m out for the rest of the PFL season this year. I’ve been suffering from a partial ligament injury in my knee since the first fight this year, but together with my team and physio, we did everything to continue the season as champions, so like the last one. We won the fights and were qualified for the playoffs, but unfortunately there was a complete rupture of the ligament along with a meniscus injury, so the only option would be surgery. I ask for your positive energy to make this surgery a success and that we come back 100% next year to defend my belt and continue this journey”, he published.