When Josh Jenkins went down with a knee injury during West Virginia’s spring game in late April, it was thought the offensive lineman could be out for as little as six-to-eight weeks.
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, that early prognosis was significantly off the mark.
In a press release, the school announced that Jenkins will miss the entire 2011 season due to the injury and subsequent surgery. Here’s the WVU’s release on a development that’s a significant blow to the interior of WVU’s line:After waiting and rehabbing Jenkins’ left knee injury from the spring game, April 29, it became apparent that the patellar stability - kneecap - was not enough to play football at his level of ability effectively.
The MCL - Medial Collateral Ligament injury healed nicely, but there still remained concern. Therefore, Jenkins underwent successful surgery, Tuesday, July 5, by Dr Bal at Ruby Hospital, to tighten the medial (big toe side) patellar retinaculum to help better track the patella for its normal function. Jenkins remains in a leg brace for six weeks, then will regain strength and slowly regain any residual lost motion due to the immobilization period.
At the appropriate time, he will begin the back-to-run/play-progression, which all totaled will be 6 months from surgery until fully healed and strong enough to play FB. He should be fully participatory for winter training and then spring FB. He is entitled to Medical Hardship the 2011 season and return for senior year 2012.
The left guard has started 23 of the 28 games he’s played as a Mountaineer, including 10 last season and 13 in 2009. Obviously, his name was written in pen on the starting lineup prior to the injury.
As a member of WVU’s 2008 recruiting class, Jenkins was the No. 1 player in the state of West Virginia according to Rivals.com.
