Have you also been breaking into a cold sweat recently while watching Shohei Ohtani's games? Seeing news reports about the Dodgers pitching coach's concerns over Ohtani's left knee injury, as a baseball fan, Loopy really feels for him! Whenever we see Taiwanese players or international superstars get injured, we often wonder when reading English sports news: how do you say common sports terms like "old injury flared up" or "playing through injury" in English? Today, Loopy will take you through the hottest sports current events to learn the authentic English for these sports injuries, so you can instantly understand them next time you watch ESPN or foreign sports channels!
Has the injury gotten worse? Stop just saying "hurt more"
When we want to express that an "injury has worsened," our instinct might be to use "become worse" or "hurt more." Although native speakers will understand, sports news or doctors are much more likely to use the verb worsen, or use aggravate (to make worse, to exacerbate) to describe it.
✗ His knee injury became more bad. ✓ His knee injury has worsened. ✓ Running too much will aggravate his knee injury.
These two words are extremely useful in medical and sports fields, and using them will instantly make your English sound very professional.
The annoying "recurrence of an old injury"! Use "flare up" for a vivid description
What athletes fear most, besides new injuries, is lingering old ailments. For what we commonly call "recurrence of an old injury" in Chinese, English has a very expressive phrase: flare up. This term originally means "to suddenly burn or burst into flames." When used for physical conditions, it refers to a pain or illness that was previously under control but has suddenly acted up again.
✗ His old injury returned. ✓ His left knee injury flare up again.
Next time your allergies, stomach ache, or old injury acts up again, you can use this super authentic expression: "flare up."
Ironman spirit! How to say "playing through injury" in English
Seeing Shohei Ohtani still insisting on batting despite his knee discomfort, this fighting spirit of "playing through injury" is truly admirable. To express playing on despite the pain in English, we use play through pain or play through injury. The preposition "through" here represents "passing through" or "enduring" the painful process.
✗ He played games with injury. ✓ Shohei Ohtani decided to play through the pain.
This phrase perfectly captures the image of an athlete fighting on the field while enduring pain.
What do the doctors think? A professional "injury forecast" is called "prognosis"
When watching sports news, what everyone cares about most is "when can the player return to the team?" At this time, the media often asks doctors or coaches about the player's prognosis (prognosis / injury forecast). This word is an advanced C1-C2 vocabulary item, referring to a doctor's professional assessment of the development of an illness and recovery time.
✗ The doctor's prediction of his injury is good. ✓ The prognosis for his knee injury is positive.
Mastering this word will allow you to easily grasp first-hand information when reading foreign sports medicine reports.
Loopy's One-Second Memory Notes
After reading today's English regarding Shohei Ohtani's injury, do you feel that sports news is actually not as difficult as you imagined? Loopy has compiled today's most essential "injury English four-quadrant chart" for everyone. Save it to refer to directly next time you watch a game:
- Injury worsening: Use worsen / aggravate (the injury gets worse, more professional than "become worse")
- Old injury recurring: Use flare up (like a flame suddenly bursting out, the old ailment acts up again)
- Playing through injury: Use play through pain (enduring and pushing through the pain to continue playing)
- Injury forecast: Use prognosis (a doctor's professional estimate of the recovery situation)