A Brief History of ACL Injuries

A Brief History of ACL Injuries

James Caughlin

Sydney FC midfielder Luke Brattan injured his knee and heard the three letters that strike fear into every player’s heart: A.C.L.

As he embarks on his return to fitness, he caught up with Daniel Garb in the latest edition of the Neds Australian Football Stories.

While it remains a major injury that requires months of rehabilitation, plenty of athletes have come back from this and exceeded what was previously thought to be possible after the reconstructive surgery.

We’ve dug into the archives and found just a few of the famous names that have been able to return to action.

Alan Shearer

Signed by Blackburn in July 1992 for a then British record fee of £3.6m, Shearer got off to a flying start with the Rovers scoring 22 goals in 26 appearances.

That was instantly derailed when he suffered an ACL tear that ruled him out for the rest of the season.

By the time the 1993-1994 season began, Shearer was not only ready to play again, but dominate English football over the next few seasons.

Not a bad come back from a major injury.

Alessandro Del Piero

The 1997-1998 Juventus campaign saw Del Piero enjoy one of the best seasons of his career, with 32 goals from 47 appearances as the Old Lady won the Italian Supercoppa and Serie A as well as making the finals of the Coppa Italia and the Champions League.

In November 1998, Del Piero tore his ACL in the closing stages of a Serie A match with Udinese and missed the remainder of that season.

Eventually he was back to his dominating self by the 2001-2002 campaign, winning many honours at both and international level.

Following his time with Juve coming to an end, Del Piero made the move to Sydney where he announced his arrival in spectacular fashion.

It’s a goal that fans and players alike have tried to recreate since, including one Luke Brattan.

Tom Brady

In the week that the NFL’s greatest of all time retired, it’s hard not to think back 13 and a half years to when some thought his career was over.

Early in the 2008 season opener Brady stepped up to throw a deep pass to Randy Moss, however as he launched it, Bernard Pollard dove for a tackle and was blocked into his left knee by backup running back Sammy Morris and he was done for the year.

Not satisfied with what was already a Hall of Fame worthy career, Brady returned to action and manufactured one of his patented fourth quarter comebacks in his return to action.

And went on to have a pretty good career post injury too.

Joe Burrow

As Joe Burrow prepares for his first Super Bowl appearance, it has to be remembered how his rookie season in 2020 ended with a horrific knee injury barely 12 months ago.

He rehabbed, came back ready for Week 1 and is now ready for the biggest game of the season.

And looking damn good in the process.

Adrian Peterson

Returning to action as a quarterback is one thing, but running backs, especially big powerful runners like Peterson can see their careers end with an ACL tear.

Not the then Vikings running back.

Just getting back on the field wasn’t enough for All Day, he came within seven yards of the single season rushing record and looks like his old self.

Quade Cooper

In the meaningless third place playoff at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Wallabies fly half Quade Cooper went for one of his patented sidesteps and his knee buckled under the force of the step.

Cooper eventually returned to action with the Reds and has produced some memorable moments in his career since coming back.

https://twitter.com/StanSportRugby/status/1437032995483906052?s=20&t=Q4kjGg3xq35gNRZknGYi9g

Greg Inglis

Inglis missed the bulk of the 2017 NRL season after suffering an ACL tear in Round 1, but was able to make it back for the 2018 campaign.

In that year he scored 10 tries in 19 appearances, while also captaining the Maroons in State of Origin.

https://twitter.com/nrlphysio/status/1117600530048536578?s=20&t=Q4kjGg3xq35gNRZknGYi9g

Daniel Menzel

You never want to be known as “the ACL guy” but that unfortunately is the main headline in Daniel Menzel’s Aussie Rules career.

After playing in 18 games for the Cats in 2011, he ruptured his ligament in the first round of the AFL Finals and then tore his other ACL in his return to the VFL.

A third ACL tear would follow in December 2012 and after attempting the LARS surgery, he needed a fourth reconstruction in 2013.

He was able to play again in 2015, featuring in a pair of AFL matches before making 17 appearances the following year.

Erin Phillips

The 2019 AFLW Grand Final was a bittersweet moment for Erin Phillips who tore her ACL in her side’s victory.

She was able to return to action the following year and was named the Crows Co-Captain in 2020.