Risky Business

With this year’s NFL draft seeing a number of players either recovering from anterior cruciate ligament surgery in 2009 or recently tearing the ligament in the few months preceding the draft, teams are evaluating the ability for these athletes to rehabilitate before the start of the 2010 season.

Wisconsin Badger O’Brien Schofield suffered the injury to his left knee during Senior Bowl practice in Mobile Alabama at the end of January. Projected to be a third or fourth round pick in April, Schofield’s agent admits that his stock may have fallen to a prospective free agent although the Green Bay Packers indicate that they haven’t given up on the DE just yet. The Packers, who lost leading pass rusher Aaron Kampman this week after he signed with the Jaguars, have kept in touch with the home state prospect since his recovery began. Winston Moss, the Linebacker Coach for the team sat down with him at the end of February.

“We had a real intense conversation,” Schofield said. “I like him. We have the same mentality. I think I could play for him. Getting a shot basically in my home state would be great.”

Corey Wootton, another Big Ten defensive end from Northwestern University, enters the draft after undergoing reconstructive surgery at the beginning of 2009. Wootton, who tore his ACL in the Alamo Bowl, was able to play the entire season with the Wildcats just eight months after his surgery. The 6′6″ DE, before sustaining the injury, was touted as a top 10 draft pick is now on track to go late in the first round at best and is ranked 6th of all the defensive ends entering the draft.

The anterior cruciate ligament, commonly referred to as the ACL, is one of four major knee ligaments and is critical to knee stability and prevents excessive movement of the knee joint. This fibrous tissue runs from the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) below.

As the ability to step off, plant and change direction on one leg are key to playing most sports, the lack of stability in the knee after a tear means the athlete will feel like his leg is “giving out” on him when executing these moves.

Reconstruction commonly entails taking a graft from a tendon, such as the hamstring at the back of the thigh, which is then used to repair the ACL as the ligament itself cannot be sewn back together.

Rehabilitation of a reconstructed ACL is usually a lengthy process, but with the technology available to college and pro athletes many of them can come back to their sports faster than the average individual.
For these injured defensive ends, especially Schofield who has only a month of rehab under his belt, the draft it not a lost cause. In the 2009 NFL draft the Philadelphia Eagles picked up Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram even though he missed the 2008 season with an ACL tear. His reconstruction by renowned surgeon Dr James Andrews and subsequent rehabilitation at the Andrews Institute was aided by the use of an underwater treadmill and therapy pool at the facility. After the Eagles signed Ingram he continued his rehabilitation at their NovaCare training complex in a similar therapy pool.

The advanced training facilities offered by professional sports teams, such as the Eagles, means they can take a gamble on an injured athlete and their rehabilitation prospects when considering who will be the best fit for the team.