Freddie Fu’s death a great loss to orthopaedics and sports medicine, says long-time friend
- A pioneer in anatomic ACL reconstruction, Hong Kong-born Fu saved the careers of many sportsmen, including football superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Fu, 71, died in his Pittsburgh home over the weekend, leaving his friends and many in the field of sports medicine in mourning
Orthopaedic pioneer Freddie Fu Ho-keung’s death is a tremendous loss to the field of sports medicine and his passing is being felt not only in the United States, where he lived for almost 50 years, but also in Hong Kong and Asia, said a leading sports medicine expert who worked closely with him.
Professor Patrick Yung Shu-hang, president of the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine (AFSM) and a long-time friend of Fu, expressed sadness over Fu’s death. Fu died at his home in Pittsburgh, United States at age 71 on Saturday.
“We knew he had been sick for a while with cancer but his condition deteriorated about two weeks ago just before the Mid-Autumn Festival,” said Yung, who is also current chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at Chinese University.
“Though he has lived in the United States for many years, we still consider professor Fu a Hong Kong boy because of his close connection to the city. He came back to Hong Kong very often, at least once a year before the Covid-19 outbreak, either on a business trip or visiting friends and family members.
“In fact, he was supposed to be one of the speakers at the International Forum of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Surgery (IFOSMA) in Xiamen which has been postponed from next month to December due to Covid-19. His colleague in the United States sent us a recorded lecture from Professor Fu on September 17 which may be his last lecture.”
