Knee Brace for football

[truecobbler]

Hi all i suffered an injury at the end of september it was a blow to the outside of the right knee from the ball, the pain was unbearable and it swelled up instantly. I have been to see GP's and specialist and they said i had not done any damage and to rest it for a month or 2 so i did. I started to train again and everything felt good but i was told by my manager that he would not play me until the GP told me it was ok. So i went to see the GP and he checked it out with the normal tests and apart from a little swelling he said it was ok to play. That weekend i managed 45 mins with no problems and the following week i started the game but 20 mins into it with no one near me my knee gave out the same way it did when the ball hit it. I paid to see a sports injury specialist who looked at and said he thinks i might have damaged my acl and refered me back to my GP but he did say i could stilll do the football training just avoid contact and sharp turning. My GP looked at my knee and said they don't think i have acl/pcl insufficency but will refer me to the specialist again. I see the specialist just before easter and he had a good look and did all the test i have had before, i had no problems with pain on them. He has told me that i might have a laxity acl or damaged cartlidge and is getting me an MRI scan .Although i told him i had trained the day before my appointment he has not told me to stop. I do quite alot in the sessions including hill runs Sprints and i can still kick a ball with no pain. I was wondering if there is a knee brace that i could wear that will enable me to play football. I looked at the McDavid hinged range 428 and 429 would these be any good.
Any advice would be grateful this injury is a complete downer especialy with the summer ahead.

[Heidi]

Hi
You could wear a knee brace to play in, however if it is a competitive league situation (rather than just a kick around with friends etc!) then you wouldn't be allowed to hear a hinged brace, due to the semi-contact nature of the sport, and the potential for injuring an opponent with the exposed metal parts.
The best you could hope for is a stabilised brace. These have metal springs or stays embedded in the sides of the brace. You should be ok to play in these. With your potential injury in mind and also that you want to wear it for football, I would recommend the Mueller Hg80 knee brace with steel springs. This is quite specific to an ACL injury and is also a more lightweight material than the typical neoprene support, and so is more breathable.
You can view/buy it here, just copy and paste this URL:
http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/Supports_And_Braces/Knee_Supports/muellerhg80bracesteelsprings

[truecobbler]

Thanks for the reply it would be for competitive league matches. I didn't know you can not wear a hinged brace for football i was watching a game recently and saw a player wearing one but the hinges were covered up. I have found the same brace you have recommended but with a hinge. Here is a link for it http://www.firstaid4sport.co.uk/Mueller-Hg80-Hinged-Knee-Brace-PMU5452/ . Would this be ok when i have looked at hinged braces they say in the description that they are recommended for contact sports such as football so i am suprised you can't wear them.
Many thanks for your help.