Mariano Rivera plans on pitching next season after suffering a torn ACL and a tear in the meniscus of his right knee shagging a fly ball in Kansas City on Thursday, and a pair of orthopedic surgeons believes he should be able to. But they believe a return this season is doubtful.
“To come back this season is very unlikely,” said Dr. David Geier, Director of Sports Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. “Spring training or a little before is probably the best-case scenario.”
Repairing an ACL typically requires taking tissue from the patella or hamstring to form a new ligament. The graft itself could take five months to heal and recovery time is often eight to 12 months, but there are instances when it doesn’t take that long.
But Geier said he thinks if Rivera’s rehab goes well, he could play again— though he may not be the same.
“There’s an excellent chance he could come back, but there are going to be reservations about whether he’ll be at the same elite level,” Geier said Friday.
Though Rivera is 42, Dr. James Gladstone, Co-Chief of Sports Medicine and Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, is confident age won’t be an issue.
“It shouldn’t matter if someone is in their 40s or 20s,” Gladstone said. “It is a long, tedious rehab. But he’s going to go through the same rehab even if he doesn’t continue playing. And the fact that he is such a disciplined athlete portends well for a successful recovery.”
Still, there will be considerable unknowns going forward.
“You don’t see this injury with too many pitchers,” Geier said. “People might say, ‘Why was he shagging fly balls?’ But non-contact ACL tears are freak things.”
dan.martin@nypost.com