Does anyone have any idea how long it will take before he is 100% again? Will he be effective next year or will it be at least one more season? I'm not really sure how long the recovery period for his injury usually is.
Not sure how bad it was. Edgerrin James was back the next season but he really wasn't the same for two more years. Quick cuts may not be quite as crucial to Hunter's fan, though.
Well....There are a couple of things to consider. Complications in rehabbing the injury would slow things down. Structurally, that knee will be stronger than it was before. It will be a matter of Justin getting back into the groove and rebuilding trust in the surgically repaired knee. Most of the time, the second year back will be more like before the injury. However, there have been a few players bounce back in the NFL in the same season post surgery. Off the top of my head, Rod Woodson and Jerry Rice. Woodson played in Super Bowl XXX against Dallas. Rice, however, bounced back in the same season, but fractured his knee cap, which can very well happen if you try to rush back too soon. But as far as being 100% over the surgery, usually 6-9 months is the full healing time.
I will vouch for this info. Believe me when it comes to surgery, volguy knows his shit, especially orthopaedic surgeries.
My cousin is an orthopedic surgeon. I could shoot him a text. But I think volguy covered it pretty well.
While I am not a surgeon or doctor, I did spend 16 years as a surgical first assistant and assisted in many of the sports type injury repair/reconstructions. My anatomical knowledge is excellent. If medical school wasn't so damn expensive, I would return to school to pursue becoming a doctor. In the meantime, I am a technical specialist for a spine company. I help with product development, research on new products, attend medical training courses, support surgeons when they use our implants for the first time, as well as providing training to the sales force and surgeons as well. I can't promise that I could answer all questions but I could try if there are questions.
Still highly likely that he won't be full go for spring ball. Assuming no issues he should be ready to go for summer workouts and fall camp.
It would be huge if he can get back into shape this spring and use the summer and fall to get better.
Only part I'm not in agreement with, as repaired/scar tissue is always weaker than normal tissue, and never reaches the same strength as before.
The initial incision, the stitching, the moving through and to the ligament, replacement of the ligament and reinforcement all involve damage to cellular components of skin and tissue, especially collagen and its cross-linking. The resulting re-formation of this tissue is scar formation, and the tissue is never as strong as it was previously.
While all of that is true, most scar tissue is very minimal. The skin, when it is fully healed, is no weaker than any other small cut at the incision site. There is no scar tissue on the replaced ligament other than possibly a very small amount where the ligament attaches to the tibial base and femoral base. The joint incisions are a splitting type incision as opposed to cutting the tissue and having to repair those cuts. Once again, very minimal scar tissue at the incision sites that will not interfere with the structural component of the knee. Structurally it will be stronger than his other knee.