Taysom Hill has a long recovery road ahead after a torn ACL during the Week 13 loss to the Rams, but exactly what will he be looking at?
Dr. David Elias, an orthopedic surgeon with OrthoLA, joined WWL Radio's Mike Detillier and Bobby Hebert to break down the process this week. The expected recovery timeline for such an injury would be 9-12 months, but elite athletes will often try to beat that range.
Editor's note: Dr. Elias is speaking from his two decades of experience in the field, but did not treat Hill's injury.
"With an ACL injury, you know, typically 50% of the time you're also injuring another structure in the knee, whether it be the meniscus, whether you chip off a piece of cartilage or you tear another ligament, so that can also have a difference in your outcome," Dr. Elias said. "If it’s an isolated ACL tear is way better than an ACL tear with an MCL tear and a meniscus tear along with it, so I think that has a lot to do with it, but there is no doubt that he’s going into this injury in better shape than 99% of the people who tear their ACL, so that will definitely help his recovery."
Hear the full interview with Dr. David Elias in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Head coach Darren Rizzi said on Monday that Hill was in the process of gathering information and multiple opinions from medical professionals. Once he's done that the question will be the recovery plan. An obvious question will be: Is this the end? Hill is 34 years old, plays an incredibly physical brand of football and has a long injury history.
It'll be up to Hill, but Elias said he sees it as unlikely that this type of injury is a career-ender. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if Hill is ready for the start of the 2025 season, though that would be right at the front of that 9-12 month range. It'll depend on the treatment plan and how aggressive Hill and his rehab team are with the process.
"You always look at Adrian Peterson, you know, he tore his ACL and his very next year he was what, a few yards short of breaking the all-time record. So I think that’s what category I would put this injury for Taysom Hill," Elias continued. "I think he’ll be back next year and I don’t think this is career-ending injury for him, and like you guys said, the shape that he’s in going into this injury is gonna definitely help him recover from this injury.”
