The cruciate ligament curse is here to stay, according to a leading medical expert in the field.

Renowned knee surgeon Ray Moran, who runs Moran's Sports Clinic Surgery in Santry, says there's nothing that can be done to prevent the injury - which has struck down Wexford's Tomas Waters, Derry's PJ McCloskey and Waterford's Martin O'Neill - in the past week alone - from occurring:

"We're never going to get rid of the problem - it's whether we can influence it is the question," he tells The Irish Examiner.

"The ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] is vulnerable to rotational activity. Any field sport involving jumping or torque threatens it.

"To some extent, the ACL is not fit for purpose. An animal like the mountain lion has an ACL like a triple bundle but ours is nothing close to that.

"Sport has taken the knee by surprise with the amount of turning and cutting involved. The Aussies pride themselves on their preventative programmes but there have been several cases of injuries in the AFL this year." Tweet

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