Comeback after ACL Surgery

[Netbudda]

I have a good friend of mine on my 4.0 team that tore his ACL ( Complete tear ) while playing soccer, he had surgery around late October or early November, he was very disturbed when I suggested for him to sit down the season ( Starts March 24th ) and recover fully, he was completely against it and he leveraged our friendship into giving him a spot on the team. He is going to therapy and working hard but still not moving at 20% capacity.....he is a great singles players and has big expectations about being in the lineup at least for #3 doubles in May......Needless to say I disagree, we won the league last year and advance to the State tournament, I have extremely good doubles players that will refuse to sit down to allow a player at 60% capacity to play.....especially when he is not a doubles player.

Does any of you have experience with recovery times after ACL surgery ?

I believe just to prove a lot of us WRONG he is going to end up hurting himself really bad.

[oldguysrule]

I am sure recovery time will vary from individual to individual. It sounds like the expectations for your team are to win, thus you will set the lineup in such a way as to give your team the best chance to win your league and advance to championship play. I say, include him on the team with the understanding that the players that give us the best chance to win will play the most. Keep in mind, he may not make a difference for you during local play, but it sounds like he might fully recover in time to make a difference during playoffs and sectionals.

[Stroke]

I had that surgery done several years ago, and I feel it takes pretty much a full year for one to get back to anywhere close to 100% for pivotal sports.

[JLyon]

why not play him in his 2 required matches during the season and then slowly work him back into the line-up. Sounds like some of the teammates are selfish. If you do not want him back let him play with another team and hope he does not bite you in the backside later.

[wao]

Originally Posted by Netbudda

I have a good friend of mine on my 4.0 team that tore his ACL ( Complete tear ) while playing soccer, he had surgery around late October or early November, he was very disturbed when I suggested for him to sit down the season ( Starts March 24th ) and recover fully, he was completely against it and he leveraged our friendship into giving him a spot on the team. He is going to therapy and working hard but still not moving at 20% capacity.....he is a great singles players and has big expectations about being in the lineup at least for #3 doubles in May......Needless to say I disagree, we won the league last year and advance to the State tournament, I have extremely good doubles players that will refuse to sit down to allow a player at 60% capacity to play.....especially when he is not a doubles player.

Does any of you have experience with recovery times after ACL surgery ?

I believe just to prove a lot of us WRONG he is going to end up hurting himself really bad.

I had a ACL surgery in 06/06 complete tear. My Dr wouldn't let me hit a ball for 6 months. I started by hitting against a ball machine and have over the last month started playing. I agree with the other poster that said 1 yr until you are 100%. you need time for the graft and blood supply to get through the new tendons

[Cindysphinx]

Do him a favor. Sit him down.

I had much less serious surgery (menicus shave with plica ressection). It has been about 18 months and I am just now returning to full strength. I got a secondary condition (scuffed cartilage) that came from returning to the tennis court too quickly.

I wish someone had had the courage to bench me.

Yeah, it's paternalistic, but I would make the decision for him.