Jake Ballard had microfracture surgery

[Mr. P]

The timeline for Giants tight end Jake Ballard’s return to action is a little longer than originally expected.

 

Ballard was already a good bet to start the year on the PUP list because of the torn ACL he suffered during the Super Bowl, but he also needs to recover from microfracture surgery performed to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee. Ballard told Jeff Roberts of the Bergen Record that he thinks the cartilage injury came when he tried to get back on the field after originally injuring the knee during the fourth quarter of the win over the Patriots.

 

“I definitely felt it rip and heard it pop. I felt like I ripped everything and broke everything,” Ballard said of the on-field injury. “My knee just collapsed, I definitely tore [my ACL] on the field. I’d say [the cartilage damage] probably happened on the sideline from trying to run with no ACL. But I don’t regret trying to get back in the game. It’s the biggest game in any football player’s career.”

 

Ballard was though to need eight to nine months to recover from the torn ACL and, per Roberts, the microfracture surgery adds another six weeks to the recovery time. That puts his ability to return at all during the 2012 season into doubt and the magnitude of the injury means it won’t be easy for Ballard to come all the way back in future seasons.

 

The Giants are also dealing with Travis Beckum’s recovery from his own torn ACL. They signed Martellus Bennett as a free agent, but they will likely still be in the market for help at tight end before the start of training camp.

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/11/jake-ballard-had-microfracture-surgery/

[Sephiroth]

Is it just me or does microfracture surgery end everyone's career?

[gmenroc]

Is it just me or does microfracture surgery end everyone's career?

 

Microfacture surgery seems to shelf a guy for a minimum of a year...without any football activity. Don't want to hurry back from it ala Steve Smith when he went off to the Eagles. In today's NFL, players tend to be forgotten pretty easily since it's more and more a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league.

 

In the case of Ballard, a lesser known guy who was more a role player than a star...it could easily be the end for him. PUP...then IR, or so it seems that's his fate at this point in time for 2012

[Treehugger]

I love the heart Jake showed trying to get back on the field during the SB, but WHAT THE FUCK WERE THE TRAINERS & DOCTORS THINKING?!

[gmenroc]

I love the heart Jake showed trying to get back on the field during the SB, but WHAT THE FUCK WERE THE TRAINERS & DOCTORS THINKING?!

I was thinking this at the time, moreso now. My first thought was that he tried it before the trainers had a chance to get to him, but that's not the case.

[BleedinBlue]

He'll be back, but not this coming season. The microfracture surgery is probably a moot point in the grand scheme of things. He was going to lose a year anyway with the torn ACL. I love this kid and look forward to when he's back. Hopefully Bennett can step into his place for the year so we don't lose much.

[gmenroc]

He'll be back, but not this coming season. The microfracture surgery is probably a moot point in the grand scheme of things. He was going to lose a year anyway with the torn ACL. I love this kid and look forward to when he's back. Hopefully Bennett can step into his place for the year so we don't lose much.

 

Ballard, I believe, will be a FA after this season. I could be wrong on that, but I thought that to be the case and don't have the time to look it up right now. I like him too, but Steve Smith, a far more athletic, lighter, player, couldn't seem to come back from it. I don't share in your confidence that he'll be back.

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

I love the heart Jake showed trying to get back on the field during the SB, but WHAT THE FUCK WERE THE TRAINERS & DOCTORS THINKING?!

 

I said the same thing...my girls and their mom screamed when they showed him collapsing like that. This was not a strained knee...the guy had a wobbly leg...

[RandolphScott]

I said the same thing...my girls and their mom screamed when they showed him collapsing like that. This was not a strained knee...the guy had a wobbly leg...

 

It's the Super Bowl.

 

I'd imagine the only way he wouldn't have tried and come back was if he was dead.

[Allstarjim]

Kenny Phillips recovered from micro fracture surgery and came back. He was an elite athlete before, it took him I think 2 years before he was anything like he was... and he probably isn't quite as good as he would've been had he not had that injury.

 

Ballard will not play at all in 2012, and if he does, it will be stupid on his part. And even if he's retained, which is not likely, IMO, 2013 doesn't look good either in terms of him getting all the way back to how he was before the injury.

[gmenroc]

Kenny Phillips recovered from micro fracture surgery and came back. He was an elite athlete before, it took him I think 2 years before he was anything like he was... and he probably isn't quite as good as he would've been had he not had that injury.

 

Ballard will not play at all in 2012, and if he does, it will be stupid on his part. And even if he's retained, which is not likely, IMO, 2013 doesn't look good either in terms of him getting all the way back to how he was before the injury.

 

If he's not on the field in 2012 and struggles AT ALL in 2013...I have to beleve his career then, will be like his knee now...completely fucked.