Right Ankle Ligament Injury- Minor and paint lasting for significant time

Hi All,

I rolled my ankle 4-5 months ago playing football. It was very painful, however, I could walk and next day there was minor swelling and no bruising.

I had ligament pain and had 2 weeks of "phone physio" manipulating and strengthening the ankle.

The pain didn't get any better so I sought face to face physio. I undertook strengthening actions for 6 weeks or so with little to no help in terms of pain and flexibility. The flexibility in the ankle is now limited to 80-90% of full capacity.

I saw another physio and overall we could not determine what was causing the pain.

I went to a consultant ankle surgeon. I've had an MRI and an ultrasound.

The MRI showed tendon wear on the right ankle but nowhere near the ligament. We don't believe the pain is radiating from the tendon pain and this is an existing minor injury i have.

The ultrasound showed some additional minor injury in the lateral gutter but nothing significant.

Fast forward 4-5 months, i can run and I can play football. I still have pain, especially with any considerable stretch or if I am simply sat at an angle. The injury is 70% fixed in terms of being to excercise, however, pain and stiffness remains.

I cant do any sport that involves significant ankle flex e.g. ji jitsu .

I am due to have a steroid injection in the ankle, however, the surgeon and myself are unconvinced of the impact. In addition i am going to restart physio. He has said that he is not convinced by surgery as the scans did not show any real damage, any surgery would be exploratory and could make the issue worse.

I'm stuck, a minor ankle injury, lasting 5 months, running out of treatment ideas (25 years old) and needing to exercise on the ankle for the next 40 years.

Please can you advise on next steps, or do I just continue and hope that one day it improves?