Football and physical therapy questions

For a football injury to the leg, you'd probably need to look at an ACL/MCL tear--the kind where your kneecap ends up on the side of your leg. That injury could require surgery, definitely requires a lot of physical therapy, and would keep your player sidelined for up to six months. The surgery could range from arthroscopic (to clean out fragments of cartilege or to repair a torn ligament) to horrifically major above-the-knee to top-of-the-calf incisions to do extensive repair work to severed ligaments or to remove bone fragments from the patella. Trust me--I've had both.

If he's hit by a car later on the same leg, you'd have to look at another, more severe ACL/MCL injury and definitely broken bones. Two months after the injury--he'd only have been in physical therapy for about four weeks. His entire leg would be smaller and weaker.

You might want to google the video of Joe Theisman getting his leg broken during a game. It is absolutely disgusting and horrific but it was definitely a career-ending injury. (leg bone coming through skin) For a major MCL/ACL injury, google a video of Willis McGahee's knee injury during the 2002 BCS championship game. You can also find out what he did for therapy and his overall recovery.

Good luck.

Another good example of a sporting injury is Kellen Winslow Jr, who broke his right tibula two games into the 2004 season. That put him out for the entire year. Then, the following May, he tore his right ACL while flicking wheelies on his motorcycle in a municipal parking lot. That put him out for another year, during which time he fought off a staph infection. Amazingly, he return to football last year.

And a recent example of a horrific injury was the broken leg sustained by Eduardo Da Silva playing for Arsenal against Birmingham City. Google it, but not while you're having breakfast.

I had an ACL rupture a couple of years ago. PM me if you want to know more detail on treatment etc.

If the kneecap is crushed/fragmented, that's pretty much end of game playing. Clean single breaks--in either tibia or fibula take less time to heal--2-4 months, breaking both, or multiple breaks in both--figure 4-6 weeks per break, plus PT, plus multiple surgeries. A massage therapist would be of tremendous help, seeing this person 3x a week to help with maintaining blood flow.