A couple of weeks ago we penned a blog on how the Tennessee Titans would have to march on without the services of their MVP when Derrick Henry was lost for the season due to a fifth metatarsal fracture. Today, we just learned that another superstar running back is done for the year as the Panthers have elected to shut Christian McCaffrey down for the season due to an ankle injury.
The Panthers were initially optimistic about McCaffrey’s injury after X-rays following the game came back negative. However, the running back underwent an MRI earlier today, and it revealed that there was enough damage to warrant a trip to the injured reserve list. Since a player cannot return from the injured reserve list twice in one season, this marks the end of McCaffrey’s 2021 season, as he was previously activated from injured reserve after missing five games with a hamstring injury.
McCaffrey’s Injury And Future
One bright spot about the injury is that the team said it would not require surgery, so long as the ankle heals as anticipated. We don’t like to guess about a player’s injuries, but if he is dealing with ankle ligament damage, it may be in his best interest to undergo ankle instability surgery. Given his position and the skill set he relies on, he’s going to need to be able to trust his ankle will be stable when he’s running, jumping and cutting. Even if the ankle heals well, lingering ankle instability as a result of the trauma to the ankle ligaments could make him prone to rolling or spraining his ankle. If this happens at the wrong time when he’s on the field, he could sprain or even fracture his ankle.
Again, this is a bit speculative, but if there is enough ligament damage, McCaffrey would be wise to consider ankle ligament strengthening surgery. The procedure is very straightforward and oftentimes allows athletes to return to sport stronger than they were prior to their injury. Given how much time he has to recover, there’s no reason to think that he wouldn’t be back to full strength in time for organized team activities or training camp.
Hopefully his ankle heals as expected and he can return as strong as ever without surgical assistance, but there’s a chance that this could end up similar to Michael Thomas. For those of you who didn’t follow that case. Thomas put off surgery only to realize he wasn’t making a strong enough recovery following conservative treatment. He underwent an operation, missed the start of the season, then ended up suffering a setback during his recovery that will force him to miss the entire season. Sometimes early surgical intervention is the best route to pursue, and we hope that McCaffrey doesn’t regret his decision to go with non-operative treatment.
He has youth and an impeccable training staff on his side, so we’re confident that he’ll have a great chance to make a strong recovery from whatever path he chooses. If at any point in his recovery, things aren’t progressing as they had hoped, he should consider an operation if lingering ligament damage is causing ankle instability. We wish him all the best in his recovery.