This line of thinking is based on an error built on an error. It does not follow that because Stingley experienced a broken lisfranc he will experience another broken lisfranc.
It's like a broken femur. Just because you broke it once, it doesn't mean you are likely to break it again.
The concern is out there, but unwarranted.
The real concern is the level of play first seen in his rookie season hasn't been seen since largely due to medical unavailability. & I say "medical unavailability" because far as I know his absence in 2020 was due to illness, not injury.
Then 2021 was the Lisfranc, early in the season. Again, the concern with Lisfranc isn't about reinjury. The main concern is degeneration. His foot is not the same & will get worse from here on out.
The question is how does his "new" foot affect his ability to play. So far we've been told the effect is minimal. Even if that is true, the question is then how long will that be the case. In Schaub's case it wasn't long. In Stingley's case it could be three (pulled out of thin air) years, could be six.
Like Schaub, the effect won't necessarily be in reinjury, but most likely reduced performance. In Stingley's case, it might result in endless soft tissue issues due to overcompensation issues in his lower body, groin, hamstrings, quads, calfs, ankle, etc...
But again we might not see those issues for a couple of years.
True. But, according to what has been said 2020 was an injury. If it was the Lisfranc, and he was trying to play on it, he could have been doing even more damage. According to the official reports it was not the Lisfranc. Which is believable, but someone is going to say it's odd it was the same leg he had an ankle injury in 2020. Which he played with/through.
Taken from The Sporting News:
Derek Stingley Jr. was once considered a nearly unanimous top-five pick. That was before injuries and COVID-19 affected his playing time at LSU.
www.sportingnews.com
That is the latest injury Stingley has had to overcome. He was also kept out of three games in his sophomore campaign. He missed the season opener vs. Mississippi State after being hospitalized with a non-COVID-19 illness, and he sat out the final two games of the season, vs. Florida and Ole Miss, with an ankle sprain he suffered while trying to defend a touchdown reception by Alabama's Devonta Smith in Week 11.
Stingley played through an ankle sprain against Missouri on Oct. 10, 2020, and missed most of the second half against Arkansas on Nov. 21 of that year after appearing to take a hit to the head on a punt return in the third quarter.
Good information right here, also some photos of the injury (textbook style) that helps explain it very well:
In the midst of a Super Bowl window, the Buffalo Bills continued to operate aggressively in free agency, signing a slew of talent to bolster the roster in a crowded AFC. Interestingly, one position that has felt neglected has been cornerback. The Bills lost CB Levi Wallace in free agency to the...
www.cover1.net
2020 – Ankle Sprain – Oct 10 vs Missouri. An
ankle sprain limited Stingley for a few weeks.
2020 – Ankle Sprain – Nov 21 vs Arkansas. The ankle was re-injured in this game during a punt return. He missed the majority of the game but was able to return for the next two games before shutting down for the final 2 games of the season.
2021 – Left Lisfranc Sprain – Aug, Preseason. Stingley suffered a Lisfranc sprain during the
first day of practice but managed to return for the team’s season opener.
2021 – Left Lisfranc Sprain (surgery) – Sept. Stingley re-injured his foot from the preseason in a practice and
opted to have surgery. He missed the final 10 games of the season and opted not to participate in the Combine.
Ankle Sprain
The ankle sprain that he suffered and reinjured in 2020 doesn’t appear to be anything to be concerned about. It’s not clear whether this was a low ankle sprain where the outside ligaments of the ankle are injured or whether this was more of a high-ankle sprain where the syndesmosis was injured. Based on the wording that he
slipped on a down marker, this leads me to believe that he suffered more of a low ankle sprain that he re-injured several games later on.
Despite being able to play through a low ankle sprain rather quickly, the body still needs time to fully heal the structures damaged. If that healing is disrupted by re-injury, then that could lead to further missed time with a decline in performance for any athlete at any level.
Lisfranc Injury
Lisfranc injuries are an injury to either the ligaments or bones of the midfoot, specifically the medial cuneiform and base of the second metatarsal.
This type of injury occurs due to a simple twist and fall that results in a hyper plantarflexed foot with rotational forces and axial load. To picture this, imagine someone falling on the back of a person’s foot when the foot is flexed downward. While the injury doesn’t have to be as severe, a simple twist and fall that places external rotation and compression to the area could also cause injury. There have also been instances where the foot is stepped on leading to direct trauma to the area and injury occurs.
Following injury, there is difficulty bearing weight, swelling, and tenderness in the localized area. They may have difficulty pushing off the foot during running and visual inspection of the foot may reveal bruising, widening of the midfoot area, or even a noticeable bump. There are not any special tests that can be performed such as seen with an Achilles, ACL, or shoulder labrum that provides a high degree of certainty at the time.
Imaging is completed to assess the severity and correlated with a physical exam. Once the injury is confirmed, the injury can either be immobilized to heal conservatively. If there is a concern for high-level use in athletics, surgery can be performed such as pinning or open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) to the area to re-establish stability for proper healing to either the bones or ligaments. Based on the timeline that Stingley has been on, it appears as though he had ORIF following his injury.
Stingley originally suffered the left Lisfranc injury during the
first practice of the preseason in August of 2021. However, he was able to rehab enough to play in the season opener against UCLA. He suited up to play in three games that season before reaggravating the injury in practice the week of
September 19th, prior to the Mississippi State game.
He missed the following week versus Auburn before shutting things down. Stingley elected for surgery during the week of October 3rd with an announcement on October 6th. Based on this timeline with the inevitable outcome, it appears as though Stingley had more ligament damage than he attempted to play through. He either had increased widening of the midfoot joint (> 2 mm shift) or he was unable to rehab effectively to play on Saturdays.
Return to Play Outcomes
Knowing the surgery was in early October, Lisfranc repairs take on average 10-
11.1 months to return to sport, though can return to normal activities sooner as seen in this
rehab protocol. This places Stingley to be fully ready by the time Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season. When looking at the impact that Lisfranc injuries have on performance and draft position, it is not as severe as one would be led to believe.
Those players who suffer a Lisfranc injury do return to play in the
NFL at 83 percent up to 90 percent. The research appears to be conflicted on whether this affects performance upon return. Some research indicates there is a
decline in performance but is not statistically significant.
Interestingly, other research suggests there is a more notable decline of
21 percent of production in the following first season and starts in fewer games in the following two and three years. It’s noted that this is more likely to be seen in offensive players rather than their defensive counterparts. It’s worth highlighting that this study went on to state using that article that players return to play
without adequate recovery. Stingley will have nearly an entire year before playing in a meaningful game.
Career length does not appear to be drastically impacted, though the literature does note that players with a Lisfranc injury going into the
NFL Draft are impacted. They are more likely to go undrafted, appear in fewer games (16.9 vs 23.3), have potentially shorter NFL careers (62.5 percent vs 69.6 percent), and have a worse draft position (142 vs 111.3) when compared to controls. Those with a residual >2 mm displacement (41.5 percent) following surgery fared even worse.
Furthermore,
long-term studies with an average of 11 years of follow-up showed that there is the possibility of post-traumatic arthritis with 72 percent showing arthritic changes and 54 percent symptomatic. There also isn’t research to suggest that he will be at a greater risk of re-injure the area as seen with other injuries.
texanswire.usatoday.com
