Chargers running back Melvin Gordon might not be worried about the condition of his surgically repaired knee, but now that we know what that surgery entailed, more people will be.
According to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Gordon’s surgery was actually a microfracture procedure, which remains a scary word to most around the league.
Whether it’s UCLA linebacker Myles Jack plummeting out of the first round after admitting he might need it or Jadeveon Clowney failing to live up to his draft status, the specter of the surgery (in which doctors drill holes in bone to promote scarring to replace damaged tissue) is daunting.
But a source told Gehlken that Gordon’s recovery time was pegged at four to six months, and that they were optimistic he’d be back to 100 percent. Running back Reggie Bush had it once and was able to continue at a high level, so it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. Like Gordon, Dr. James Andrews did Bush’s surgery.
“Typically, I know especially in the NBA and the NFL, when people hear ‘microfracture surgery,’ they are going to think it could be a potentially career-ending injury,” said Dr. Brian Schulz, an orthopedic surgeon at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles who did not perform Gordon’s surgery. “Normally, it’s more directly related to the size of the defect, what’s going on in the rest of the knee. If it’s a relatively small lesion that’s localized to a specific point, the microfracture has worked pretty well, even in professional athletes. . . .
“I don’t think microfracture is quite the kiss of death that everyone makes it out to be.”
Of course, if Gordon isn’t able to improve on last year’s disappointing performance (3.5 yards per carry, as the Chargers were worst in the league in that category), the stigma associated with his surgery isn’t going to go away.