O-Linemen and ACL injuries

ACL's are not an uncommon football injury. That's what I'd tell him first of all. Many players on MANY levels have come back from an ACL tear.

Sadly... however... depending on how its going to be fixed, 5 months isn't likely enough time for him to play, IMHO (my brother in law is a physio... and we talk about this stuff alot). He'll most likely have reconstructive surgery... be in a walking cast for a number of weeks... walk with crutches and then a cane... then undergo ALOT of intensive rehab... and different people go through it at different rates.

For example the minimum window is usually about 6 months to playing shape, and even then it is a HUGE adjustment!

Speaking from recent experience with the best man at my wedding... it was 6 months before he could even remotely golf in comfort... let alone run (he was able to 'lightly jog' by 8 months),

He'll be able to come back, but I wouldn't count on him for next season.... I wouldn't rule the kid out either. I played with about 4 guys (OL) in college who injured/tore an ACL in high school.

Stress to him that his body needs time to recover, and rework the neural-motor pathways so he's able to balance on the knee. He will also be VERY timid at first on it. I'm just biased on these issues, but I think its important for you to not push him to return (I have seen coaches do it). Remind him that its far more important for him to have a good quality active life AFTER football (run and play with his future kids for example!)... than it is to rush back and re-injure it... only making it very much worse.

I wish your young man all the best coach!

Coach;

I didn't mean to come off like you would push him into playing. No responsible coach should, but I've seen it happen.

Is he continuing to rehab it under the care of a physio - specifically one used to rehabbing sports players?

Acutally using your wife's bball example isn't too far off. There are some anatomical differences between the knees, but some of the same forces would be involved on the knee in bball and blocking. Some OL coaches in the coleges actually prefer OL who are also playing basketball, because it helps with pass pro. Things like shuffling, planting, posting... very similar stresses on the knee.

One thing my friend had done was toward the end of his rehab (same injury as your guy BTW)... he had to stand on one leg, and throw a ball at a target. Ideally this is done with a wobble board, but he could just do it on level ground. Walking and changing direction in a zig zag pattern with reaosnably hard (but under control) plat might help him gain confidence.

When the ligament tears the knee naturally loses stability, and has trouble knowing how to keep balance. A good example of this is asking someone with a chronically bad ankle to stand on that foot and balance, you can see the ankle working to find the balance, and it takes a long time... It was around 7 months before my buddy could confidently plant, and even now he has good days and awkward days where it doesn't feel right.

I'll be going golfing with my physio next week. I'll ask him for you about your player, and what you might be able to do with him. Its great that you're rehabbing with him!