He said that he could be back in a few days or a few weeks..........will get some additional 2nd opinions.
This makes me think that the 2nd opinions are to determine whether to take a non-surgical vs surgical approach. In other words, I believe that the MRI may have already identified a subtotal tear or complete tear/avulsion of the distal hamstring tendon (or the PCL). With a distal hamstring avulsion, there has been controversy whether to surgically repair or not.
Most hamstring tears/avulsions occur more proximal as in this illustration.
(See my previous post showing the distal hamstring tendon attachments.)
One study published in the past few years reported on elite athletes with this type of injury. They found that in the
nonoperative treatment group (12), 7 players recovered at an average of
10.4 weeks (range, 3-35). Five of these players
(42%) failed initial nonoperative treatment (mean, 16.8 weeks) and
subsequently had surgery to resect the torn tendon and surrounding scar tissue. These 5 players recovered at an average of
12.8 weeks postoperatively. In the acute [immediate] surgery group, 5 players had surgery to resect the torn tendon and scar tissue within 4 weeks of injury. The
acute-phase group had an average recovery of
6.8 weeks after surgery.
I believe that this is possibly the dilemma facing AJ and the organization. Making a decision that at least gets him back before the end of the season or playoffs.
There is no mention of the PCL, but let's say that if the PCL has theoretically been shown to be completely torn, a little different situation exists but with similar decision quandary. Surgical reconstruction of the PCL is controversial, and usually only recommended for grade III PCL tears. Because of the technical difficulty of the surgery, some orthopedic surgeons do not see the benefit of PCL reconstruction. Others, however, believe PCL reconstruction can lead to improved knee stability and lower the likelihood of problems down the road. Non-surgical rehab can take 6-8 weeks........Surgical rehab 6 months.
Again, let me emphasize that I have no access to the findings, physical or radiological. But if this were just a straight forward "minor" hamstring problems, I don't believe that there would be need for several 2nd opinions.
Let me leave you with this article that appeared after an MRI was obtained in 2007 following AJ's PCL/MCL injury. You might want to compare some of the wording.
AJ ending up missing 7 games..........