When Aaron Rodgers went down just four days into the NFL season, fans of the New York Jets and of the NFL believed they had seen the last of the four-time MVP until the 2024 season rolled around. Rodgers’ torn Achilles is a devastating injury for any athlete, let alone a quarterback in his 19th season set to turn 40 years old in December.
Dr. Bonnie Chien, an orthopedic surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, spoke with Fox News Digital about the general aspects of an Achilles tear surgery, the rehab process and the timeline for an athlete to return from the injury. 'The idea is that they put stitches, or strong sutures, through the Achilles tendon, and then they drill a hole in the heel bone, in the back, where the Achilles inserts into the heel bone.
There’s, I think, controversy, discussion and variability in terms of when different surgeons allow their patients to put full weight. Typically, I would say is probably between four six weeks, in that range.' As far as a return to the field, Chien said it is 'possible' that an athlete could return to the field in a four- to five-month timeframe, though the typical patient can take up to a year.
Besides re-rupture, although having surgery can decrease the risk of re-rupture compared to no surgery, is that if you go back too soon, too quickly, too hard, too fast, there’s a chance that tendon hasn’t healed enough sort of tightly under tension,' Chien said. 'And then it could be stretched out, in which case the length of the tendon is increased and, therefore, the power of the tendon is less.