Mariano Rivera is finally ready to take the next step in his recovery from the torn ACL he suffered in his right knee over a month ago, with surgery planned for Tuesday at Hospital for Special Surgery.
After Rivera landing awkwardly while shagging fly balls during batting practice in Kansas City before a game May 3, doctors found a blood clot which ended up delaying the surgery, but the 42-year-old remains confident he will be ready by next season.
“No doubt about that, God-willing,” Rivera said during a visit to Yankee Stadium before the Yankees beat the Rays, 4-1, last night.
The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Altchek, the Mets’ team doctor.Rivera said he isn’t concerning himself with an exact timetable after the procedure.
“I don’t want to have that,” Rivera said. “I don’t want to put in my mind a line.”
And while he isn’t concerning himself with the possibility of returning this season, he hasn’t completely ruled it out — even if the team has no such expectations.
“I don’t want to think about it,” Rivera said. “Again, miracles happen. I just have to be able to do what I was doing before. That’s what I want.”
The Yankees would like him to that, as well, since Rivera has vowed to pitch again next season.
And while Rivera is confident he’ll regain his old form, he acknowledged there are no guarantees that will happen.
“I have to get it fixed first,” Rivera said.
In the meantime, he’s been doing what he could to make the knee stronger to hasten the recovery after the procedure.
“You work at it, simple as that,” said Rivera, adding that he has kept himself occupied during his absence. “I’ve been so busy with therapy, I don’t even think about [the surgery]. I get home, I’m tired and then I watch the game. It’s a full day.”
Rivera’s return shouldn’t be impacted by the delay, according to Dr. David Geier, Director of Sports Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.
“The usual wait on surgery after an injury like this is two or three weeks, until the swelling goes down and they can build the strength back up,” Geier said.
Rivera’s return shouldn’t be impacted by the delay, according to Dr. David Geier, Director of Sports Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.
“The usual wait on surgery after an injury like this is two or three weeks, until the swelling goes down and they can build the strength back up,” Geier said.
And although Rivera will have to stay on blood thinners after the surgery to make sure he doesn’t get another clot, Geier doesn’t believe that will hurt his recuperation.
“It should have no effect on an athlete’s ability to recover from surgery,” Geier said.
If all goes well, that means the Yankees’ closing issues that they hope are behind them this season, won’t show up again next year.