At 10:16 pm ET, the Atlanta Braves announced that Ronald Acuña Jr. had an MRI which revealed a torn ACL in his left knee, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.
Due to this unexpected news, there are several doubts about how long it will take to recover, the rehabilitation process he will follow and if there is a preliminary return date for the Venezuelan outfielder to the MLB.
Dr. Eric McCarty, an orthopedic surgeon at UCHealth’s Center for Performance and Sports Medicine at CU Boulder, who also practices at UCHealth’s Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Denver, discusses ACL tears and recovery time.
Multiple reports from McCarty show that the estimated recovery time to repair damage from a torn ACL after a surgery is from eight to nine months.
This injury is new to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s left knee, but not to his right, which suffered the same injury in July 2021, requiring surgery to repair the damage. This kept him away from Major League Baseball for half of that year’s season and part of the following one.
Acuña Jr. underwent that surgery in July 2021 and made his official return on April 28, 2022, a stretch of nine months with a few extra days.
During his recovery, the Venezuelan recounted in an interview with Yancen Pujols that he had to be accompanied to the bathroom, couldn’t put weight on his right foot, underwent constant studies, experienced pain, and underwent therapy in the final stretch. Unfortunately, he would have to go through that process again.
If all goes well, Acuña Jr. would be ready to start the next Major League season and prove to the world once again that he can be the same or even better player, just as he did in 2023, the year he won the National League MVP after a masterful performance of 42 home runs with 72 stolen bases.
From El Fildeo, we wish strength and a speedy recovery to Acuña
