I don't really get this idea that there are long term implications. As I said before in this thread a couple of years out of football might, if anything, benefit a player of his age. You seem to be making negative assumptions about his current and future health/fitness based on very little evidence.
Re the ongoing skepticism about his UC being cured, I've blathered on at length about this earlier on in the thread. Without knowing exactly which op he underwent and the extent of his symptoms beforehand it's hard to be 100% certain that he will never have any symptoms from his illness again but there's a very good chance that this is the case. Don't take my word for it, take Darren Fletcher's.
Anyway, it's not as though he'd be the first elite athlete to perform at the highest level with UC. Steve Redgrave went on to win 5 olympic medals after his diagnosis!
Time out of the game is one thing, time out battling an extremely unpleasant and quite serious condition is another. He might come back 100% and be absolutely fine, and I hope he does, but he also might not. I'm not making any assumptions that he wont be absolutley fine but the reality is that batting a serious illness, which this is, can take a lot out of people - its not a given that you make a recovery to the extent that you were as well as you were before.
As I understand it its a condition with varying degrees, like a lot of bowel conditions, from mildly problematic to serious. It seems to be something that requires careful management and possibly a special diet - something else which could evidently affect someone's physical conditioning, especially a footballer trying to get to the top of his game. That also doesnt take into account the effects of drugs a person might have to take to deal with teh illness in the first place.
As above I hope he has come through this and it completely cured and 100% well again - both as an indiviual and as a player. I'm just sceptical that something evidently so serious can be resolved that quickly and not leave lasting effects. It seems to be a disease which goes into "remission" rather than being cured, which suggests it can flare up again. As I said, hopefully it doesn't.
I hope what he says is right, but he's not likely to make any other comment anyway is he? As it is I hope he's fine and can make a massive contribution, I just hope we're not relying on that rather than invest in an area of the pitch where we're desperately short.