<s>[INST] Last week I was kicked right above my shinguard while playing in a soccer game. I immediately had swelling the size of a golf ball and bruising. The swelling has gone down slightly within the week but now the pain has come back with a vengeance over night. Is this normal? [/INST] Hello, You are right. The pain is due to the injury you had playing soccer as there are very much skin and fascia covering over the shin region the injury must have not healed. as you mentioned the swelling came down with a weak but the tissue healing is a little slow. This is common and need not worry as this is normal. You can do quick icing and that should take care of the pain. Slowly start doing the ankle toe movements and static quadriceps and static hamstring exercise so the muscles become stronger and the pain doesn't come back. In my clinical practice, most sport injury cases have these common complaints and this is normal. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Jay Indravadan Patel, Physical Therapist or Physiotherapist </s>