Injured Warriors hoping to return for bowl
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
University of Hawai'i football player Lui Fuata said that wearing a protective brace probably spared him from suffering a more severe knee injury in last Saturday's 21-16 loss to Alabama.
Fuata yesterday was scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the lateral meniscus cartilage in his left knee.
"The doctors said I was very fortunate I was wearing my knee brace or else I could have torn my ligaments," Fuata told The Advertiser yesterday.
Most of the UH linemen wear a "preventative knee brace" during games. Dr. Andrew Nichols, the team physician, said such braces help reduce the risk of suffering hyperextensions or injuries to the cruciate and collateral ligaments.
"Some studies show they help and some show they may not help a great deal," Nichols said.
Nichols said preventative braces are made of carbon fiber and weigh less than a pound.
Fuata suffered the injury in the first quarter, "but I really don't know how it happened."
He said he hopes he will be healthy enough to play in the ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Day.
Strong safety Hyrum Peters, who suffered a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament against Alabama, also hopes to play on Christmas Day. Peters' injury is similar to the one suffered by running back Mike Bass, who missed three games.
The initial treatment for such an injury is rehabilitation, not surgery. Nichols said that during a National Football League combine eight years ago, it was discovered that 5 percent of the participants had some degree of PCL injury. The condition did not appear to greatly affect their workouts.
All guts, no glory: The best game of linebacker Pisa Tinoi-samoa's UH career did not result in any awards. After Tinoisamoa amassed 19 tackles, including two sacks, against Alabama, it was assumed he would be a runaway choice to be named the Western Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week. But because UH was the only WAC team to play last weekend, the league decided not to issue any weekly football awards.
Still, Tinoisamoa's effort drew praise from UH coach June Jones, who marveled, "He was everywhere."
The big question is: Where will Tinoisamoa be next year?
Tinoisamoa was admitted into UH as a partial-qualifier in 1999, a situation in which the NCAA prohibited him from playing during that first year. Now in his fourth year at UH, Tinoisamoa will be eligible for a fifth year — and fourth season — if he earns a bachelor's degree by August.
At his weekly news conference yesterday, Jones said Tinoisamoa is on track to earn that degree if he passes all of his classes this semester. Jones said Tinoisamoa has indicated he will return to school next year if he receives the extra season of eligibility.
"He said that he will, but stranger things have happened, too," Jones said. "It's kind of up to him at this point."
Jones said he will not try to influence Tinoisamoa, who has said he will make a decision at the end of the season.
"What if I talked him into staying and he tore his knee up in the first game?" Jones said. "It's his decision."
One option is for Tinoisamoa to apply for an insurance policy through the NCAA. Such a policy would compensate Tinoisamoa for potential lost earnings as a result of a serious injury. Former UH wideout Ashley Lelie was set to apply for the NCAA insurance policy before deciding to forgo his senior season and apply for the NFL draft.
