Joe Burrow's Surgeon Offers Encouraging Update About His Recovery
CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow underwent successful knee reconstruction surgery on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
The 24-year-old suffered a torn left ACL and MCL in Cincinnati's Week 11 loss to Washington. His meniscus and PCL were also damaged.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who's operated on Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady and plenty of other legends.
ElAttrache not only operated on Burrow, but he also performed Saquon Barkley and Nick Bosa's knee surgeries earlier this year.
All three players suffered torn ACL's and other damage to their knee.
He provided an encouraging update about all three players during a recent appearance on the Adam Schefter podcast.
"It's early and no one in my field spikes the ball at this point afterwards, but what we look for are they achieving the milestones and the points that they need to meet early on and I think they're just doing fantastic," ElAttrache said. "These guys this year have for whatever reason the injuries this year have been complex. There's been very few just regular ACL tears. It's always combined with something else this year.
"These guys are doing exceedingly well right now, but it's early on. I expect that the guys that we've taken care of with the knee injuries at this point in the year still would be on track for the beginning of the season next year. We'll see how it goes with regard to their rehab and return to play and that last big step that they make on their own, that's the return to performance that they need to be able to compete at that level. That'll take place towards the end of the summer."
Schefter followed up to confirm that Burrow was included in the group of players that is on track to return for the 2021 season.
"When you say he's on track, there's just a few criteria you look for," ElAttrache said. "What I can say is everything that's come our way this year so far, even though they've been very complex, I'm extremely happy with what we've been able to do. We've fixed it in a way that I'm confident that they'll be able to play again."
Burrow is expected to make a full recovery and even though it's early in that process, it's good to know that he's healing exactly like everyone hoped he would prior to the surgery.
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