And so it begins…
(Well, I guess it *really* began back when Tavon Young and Dennis Pitta were injured during minicamps, right? So I should say, “so it continues…”)
#Ravens RB Kenneth Dixon suffered a tear in his meniscus, source said. He'll have surgery & hope is it's just a trim. Will know more post.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 25, 2017
I’m no doctor, but even a “trim” of a meniscus doesn’t sound very promising. In trying to learn just how daunting meniscus tear recovery is, I came across this:
A player who tears his meniscus isn’t going to be out for the season, unless we’re dealing with the injury occurring in the final month of the year. Typically, the recovery time from a torn meniscus is 4-6 weeks — or about a month. So a basketball or hockey player that tears his meniscus will only miss a month or so of a long season.
Part of this stems from the injury’s description not being all that daunting:
A meniscus tear occurs in the rubbery knee cartilage that cushions the shinbone from the thighbone. The meniscus can tear with forceful twisting or rotation of the knee.
Surgery is almost never required to repair a torn meniscus. The process involves rest, ice and physical therapy.
Then, on the website of an orthopedic surgeon:
Meniscus tear. A meniscus is an object shaped like a crescent moon, such as the medial meniscus of the knee. The medial meniscus serves as a cartilage pad between the joints of the thigh and shin bones. Meniscus tears are most likely caused by twisting or turning abruptly, usually with the foot in place while the knee is bent.
Recovery Time: If knee arthroscopy is performed, the rehabilitation process balances swelling and healing. The goal is to return range of motion to the knee as soon as possible. Physical therapy is a common part of rehabilitation, and most therapists work with the orthopedic surgeon to return the patient to full function as soon as possible. Most patients return to mild routine activity occurs in less than six weeks.
So I suppose we’re all waiting to see what the surgeons find when they go in, but even at that point, we know that we won’t get many straight answers from the Ravens staff regarding Dixon’s prognosis.
Instead, we’ll all be watching with bated breath to see if he suits up for any of the preseason contests.
Remember, Dixon was already suspended for the first four games of the season, so if there was any starter this HAD to happen to…I suppose this is the right guy? The bright side is that, even at the longer end of the recovery spectrum, Dixon should be healed by the time he’s eligible. Of course, a young player missing so much training camp and practice time is never optimal.
Hopefully this is the final injury to a starter we have to talk about this summer, but the way things are going thus far, Ravens Nation is already eying the ol’ Panic Button.
