Following Wayne Rooney’s injury sustained against Fulham, the Professional Footballers Association have opened an investigation into whether or not the Nike SG Pro stud configuration worn by Hugo Rodallega was safe to be worn on the pitch.
Rooney missed England’s World Cup Qualifier against Moldova as a result of the deep gash he sustained when Hugo Rodallega’s Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII cut into his leg. The SG Pro soleplate of Rodallega’s boots is, according to PFA chief Gordon Taylor, now under investigation to determine whether or not the stud configuration is safe.
According to Rooney, the gash was a mere millimeter away from hitting a major artery, a further injury that would’ve kept the T90 Laser IV wearer out for an even longer period of time. If the PFA investigation does reveal that the SG Pro configuration is unfit to be worn on the EPL’s pitches it’ll be a huge blow to Nike who only recently unveiled it. If professionals at the highest level aren’t allowed to wear the configuration, Nike may have to scrap it as a whole, and revert back to the traditional six stud configuration (like the one Rooney was wearing).
Despite all of the controversy surrounding the configuration, in our review the Clash colourway Vapors, Jon rated the SG Pro soleplate very highly
I personally feel this stud configuration is absolutely fantastic for use in the wet. You can feel the blades providing that extra bit of grip when you turn, which is exactly what they’re designed for.
We’ll be waiting eagerly for the result of the PFA’s investigation, and will be sure to post about it when it does eventually come out. In the meantime do you think the SG Pro configuration should be banned? Leave your comments in the section below.
About Isaac Abraham
Mhmm, that will DEFINITELY be a huge blow to Nike.
I always thought the metal studs look extremely sharp to be honest
it was unlikely to have been the metal studs that cut Rooney’s leg, more likely it was the blades which are indeed quite sharp (which I know from reviews and also from examining the boots myself). If the PFA’s investigation finds that it was the blades that caused the gash then that would be just as big a blow for Nike as they would have to revert back to the previous Mercurial soleplate, not only for the Vapor VIII’s but also for the soon to be relseased Vapor IX’s which I believe have an identical stud configuration. Alternatively, they could use the stud configuration from the Green Speeds I suppose
KingMJ, it was the front portion of the boot that caused the injury. The only blades on the Vapor VIII are “that sharp” are found on the back. Also, in the SG-Pro configuration, most of the non-metal blades are closer to the blades on the Miracle than the Vapor VIII.
Although the blades on the Vapor VIII are sharp, there is a reason why the “SG-Pro” configuration is being called into question and not the “Vapor VIII stud configuration.”
Im kinda neutral on this. I like this nike soleplate and its been extremely popular with athletes so if its popular then it works. I mean its not just nike all football boots studs are progressively getting sharper and stronger so with enough force anyone can step on your thigh and open up a big gash. However im all for safety measures on the pitch and as a proud owner of vapor 8 fg i do notice the blades to be extremely sharp. So i hope the investigation comes back negative but if if its dangerous then by all means scrap it. I am rather interested if football products are already inspected and approved for use by fifa or a third party. If not then they should that way we can avoid these types of problems
they look like rugby studs but to be honest if that happened to anyone else lets say valencia they wouldnt hav bothered to investigate!!
this is a joke. if they ban them, they have to ban all soft ground boots. accidents happen and fortunately these are rare. its only being investigated because this is rooney. this kind of mixsoles have been made for years by adidas and puma king and even nike , but only sold to the pro’s. what happend to football being a contact sport and just being unlucky??
You know I’m typically not into conspiracy theories but your point about them doing this because of Rooney might not be that far off. I don’t remember any investigation on Evan’s boots when he tore Stu Holden’s knee open.
just saw the incident. rooney throws himself into the guy and he lands on his leg and then causing the gash. this would have happend no matter what sg boot he was wearing. rooney can blame himself for this.
Although those SG studs do look sharp, with the amout of force and the angle of contact, any stud could have tore through Rooney’s leg. But possible a duller, wider, shorter bladed stud like the laser’s would have been less severe.
the sgpro configuration has a toe spike which have been considered dangerous for quite some time. That’s what’s being called into question, not the metal studs.
such a shame… the SG pro are actually nice.