Novais Feeling Good After Missing Six Months With Knee Injury
By: Jorge Cardoso
If Fernando Henrique Novais, 33, had to choose a word to sum up 2018 and 2019, it would be balance, no doubt, due to his pains and victories during that period.
In January 2018, he celebrated his return to the United States’ arenas, where he always liked to be as he hoped to fulfill one of his big dreams, which was to be a world-renowned competitor.
However, in the final round in Fort Worth, Texas, he felt a pain in his right knee after attempting to ride Smooth Over, as one foot tangled in the flank rope and the other hit the ground.
“I couldn’t make the 8 seconds, and as soon as I stepped on the floor I felt this pain, but I thought it was because of the moment,” Novais said.
He continued to compete in the United States in the 2018 season, returning to Brazil only in May, to contend at the Monster Energy PBR in Maringá.
“I was riding well in the Top 35 of the world, and in Brazil I led several times and I had chances for the title,” he said.
The second injury came after being hit in the same knee during an open rodeo stage in the city of Ibirarema, in São Paulo, in November.
“I went to Goiânia for the PBR (Brazil) event with my knee cracked the following week, and so I didn’t ride well at that event,” he said. “After that, I participated in another open rodeo, fell and twisted my knee. That’s when I felt that the situation was really complicated.”
Even with a lot of pain, Novais won the title of PBR Brazil champion that year, and he was highlighted for leading for the championship several times, and still being one of the riders named to Team Brazil for the Global Cup 2019.
“It was really exciting to wear the buckle of the best competitor in Brazil, and still be part of a two-time selection for the Global Cup,” he explains. “I was in pain, and I rode with a knee brace borrowed from Guilherme Marchi.”
His last ride of 2019 was on June 22 in the qualification stage for Iron Cowboy in Americana, in the second round, against the bull Caiçara, from Cia Paulo Emílio.
“I reached my limit,” Novais said. “I couldn’t continue any longer.”
The surgery took place in late August in Pereira Barreto, in São Paulo, where he lives.
Novais’ treatment was complicated and needed a lot of attention from physiotherapist Diego Saiki Giannini and personal trainer Conrado de Paula Santos.
“The surgery was for cutting, which takes more time to start a treatment, and that is why we were not getting the expected results, not least because he still needed to remove his fears and feel confident in stabilizing his knee again,” Giannini said. “This is one of the injuries that most haunts athletes due to their time off and the pain they feel.”
Still, according to the expert, there is little left for him to be fully ready.
“Now it is equal to an explosion of strength that is not yet how we want it,” Giannini adds.
At his home, the athlete maintains a routine of regular physical activities, as explained by Souza, who monitors Novais.
“He needs to keep training, because he has been through a very difficult period in the last six months,” Souza said. “He also has to be strengthened, especially exercises focused on the core, since he spent a lot of time idle, in addition to specific exercises for the knee.”
For Novais, the worst is over, and there is still a long way to go.
“I still want to have a very good season in Brazil, and ride again in the United States,” Novais said. “I am confident and feel good to ride. Now it is time to return to the good phase.”
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