ACL injuries: Why are they so serious and what do they mean for the injured player?

How quickly a player recovers from ACL injury can depend on their age, the severity of the injury and how the individual reacts to surgery.

Ben Warburton is a physiotherapist experienced in ACL rehabilitation, having worked with Cardiff City, Wales’ national rugby union team and Scarlets.

Warburton says it will take a minimum of six months after surgery to get a player match-fit.

“Once you’ve had surgery, there’s a lot of trauma to the knee,” he explains. “Once that’s calmed down, you’ve got to take it easy for the first three months. When you get past that three-month mark, you can rehab.

“Then it’s a case of conditioning and training, getting the leg strong and getting the player back to running, training and games. That’s why it takes so long.”

Warburton says players who return to playing six months after ACL surgery are more likely to re-aggravate the injury than those who recover for nine months.

“You can go earlier [than six months], but it’s a massive risk,” Warburton adds.

“I don’t know many surgeons who’d recommend to that. It has obviously happened. It hasn’t not been successful, it’s just unbelievably high-risk.”

“A lot of it comes down to player profile as well,” he adds. “If they’re a really important player, you’re going to push them early. If they’re a developing player in the future, you’re going to probably go more towards nine months.”