For those of you who aren’t familiar with Old English, the word fortnight derives from the phrase “feowertyne niht,” which means fourteen nights. In other words, Rodgers is essentially saying he’s still a few two-week periods away from a possible return. But could he actually return to his starting role in 6-8 weeks? We explore this possibility and talk about Kirk Cousins’ Achilles tendon repair on today’s blog.

Rodgers’ Innovative Achilles Tendon Surgery

As we’ve documented on the blog already, Rodgers’ Achilles repair was performed using the Midsubstance Speedbridge Technique. It has become the standard for athletes who are hoping to safely and quickly return to a high level of sports. While it is a new and innovative technique, it can only speed up the recovery so much. As originally noted, Rodgers would still have a high risk of another rupture if he returned in four and a half months, which is right at the end of the playoffs. It’s possible that we see Rodgers doing more work in pre-game warmups, but the fact of the matter is the risk of re-rupture is still so high if he tries to return this season. He wants to defy the odds, but he also doesn’t want to make the injury worse by returning too early.

Rodgers underwent the right operation if he is hoping to return as quickly as possible, but it just doesn’t seem plausbile that he will be able to return this season given his injury and the Jets’ current playoff prospects. We wish him the best, but he’s still probably more than 3-4 fortnights away from being able to return to football at a professional level.

What About Kirk Cousins’ Achilles Surgery?

It has been quite interesting to see how the media is talking about Rodgers’ Achilles injury when compared to Cousins’ injury. We keep hearing that Rodgers underwent this innovative Midsubstance SpeedBridge Technique, but we’re not really hearing the same things be said about Cousins’ injury and surgery. While it’s known that Cousins underwent Achilles tendon repair, the quarterback and the team have not publicly commented on the type of procedure he underwent. It stands to reason that he underwent Midsubstance SpeedBridge Achilles Tendon Repair, but it’s possible that a different route was pursued given that Cousins’ injury occurred much later in the season and there’s simply no operation that would get him back on the field this year.

Should it come out that Cousins underwent a different Achilles correction, it will be fascinating to compare his rehab to Rodgers’ and see how the rest of their careers play out. Hopefully neither of them will suffer a re-rupture, and while there are plenty of other factors at play, it would be interesting to see how they progress through organized team activities, training camp, the preseason and the regular season if they opted for different surgeries and recovery plans. Like Rodgers, we wish Cousins all the best with his recovery, and we’ll keep our ears open to see if anyone confirms what type of corrective procedure Cousins underwent.

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With Rodgers suffering the injury in Week 1, could he possibly get back on the field before the season is done if the Jets make a run in the playoffs? We take a closer look at that possibility in today’s blog.

Could Rodgers Return?

On the surface, it seems impossible that Rodgers could return to the field this season. After all, the standard recovery timeline for an Achilles tendon rupture is 6-9 months, and oftentimes it takes longer for athletes to make it back to a professional level. Normally it would be out of the question, but many people are pointing to Cam Akers as an example of the type of recovery a world class athlete can have when receiving the best medical care.

Cam Akers is a running back for the Los Angeles Rams, and he tore his Achilles in July of last year. Akers was able to return to the field in five and a half months, playing his first game in the final week of the regular season. If we apply a similar timeline to Rodgers, we see that he tore his Achilles exactly five months to the day away from Super Bowl LVIII. In other words, if Rodgers could shave a little time off his recovery and the Jets could make a run to the Super Bowl, there is an outside shot that he would be healthy enough to play in the game, on paper.

With that said, all signs point to this simply not being a realistic possibility. Cam Akers was 23 when he tore his ACL, whereas Rodgers will turn 40 this December, so him shaving off any more time from Akers’ miraculous recovery timeline seems almost impossible. It also seems unlikely that Rodgers’ conditioning would be back at a professional level by this point, as it isn’t even safe to sprint on a surgically-repaired Achilles for four months after surgery, meaning he couldn’t run until mid-January at the earliest.

Another thing that makes his return incredibly unlikely is that the timeline relies on the Jets making the Super Bowl. While they were able to go on to win without Rodgers in the first game, they were blown out yesterday and certainly didn’t look like the best team in their conference. They are currently 45:1 to win their conference, which means that odds-makers think they have roughly a 2 percent chance at making the Super Bowl.

We don’t like to talk in certainties, especially when it comes to medical issues, but we’re willing to say that Aaron Rodgers has taken his last snap for the Jets this season. There are simply too many factors working against him. He should certainly be able to overcome this injury and get back under center next year if he so chooses, but his 2023 season is over. We expect him to rise again, but it won’t be this season. We wish him all the best in his recovery.

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Rodgers was spun down awkwardly on a sack and took a little bit of time standing up, but he only lasted moments on his feet before he sat back down in obvious pain. He was carted to the locker room a short while later before being ruled out for the rest of the game. You can see a video of the injury below.

Aaron Rodgers was injured and helped off the field on the first Jets drive vs. the Bills. pic.twitter.com/vtKHRW566V

— ESPN (@espn) September 12, 2023

Dr. Silverman Breaks Down What He Saw

This is an eversion mechanism of injury, with the ankle tilting inside followed by external rotation. Based on the video, Rodgers likely suffered one of three types of injuries:

1. Deltoid Ligament and Syndesmotic Ligament Injuries – Damage to these ligaments seems possible, and although we know that X-rays are negative, it’s not uncommon for this type of injury to also involve a fracture around those ligaments. This would likely be a multiple week injury depending on the severity of the ligament damage, which we’ll know more about tonight or tomorrow.

2. Lateral Talar Process Injury – The talus is the bone in the ankle nestled between the lower leg bones and the heel bone, and it’s very uncommon for the average individual to suffer a fracture to this area. That said, Rodgers isn’t your average Joe. This type of fracture is common among snowboarders who end up overloading the bone while the ankle is dorsiflexed and eversion. We know that the X-rays came back negative, but it’s possible that these initial images can’t clearly see the talar fracture. Whether conservative or operative management is pursued, it’s at least a six week injury, and likely longer for a starting quarterback.

3. Achilles Rupture –  There’s also a possibility of a worst case scenario, which is an Achilles rupture. With the dorsiflexion motion under eccentric load, an Achilles rupture is a distinct possibility. Not only would this end his season, but there’s a real chance that at his age, it is a career-ending injury for Rodgers. After the game, Jets coach Robert Saleh said that “it’s not good,” in reference to the injury, and that the team fears Rodgers has suffered an Achilles injury.

My professional opinion based on the video alone is that it is one of the three injuries listed above, and it’s looking more and more like an Achilles injury, which would be confirmed with an MRI on Tuesday.

We’ll keep tabs on the injury news coming out late tonight and tomorrow, but it seems likely that Rodgers will miss at least multiple weeks with this injury, and it’s possible that his season and career is over. We wish him the best in his recovery.

The post A Foot Surgeon’s Perspective On Aaron Rodgers’ Injury appeared first on Lance Silverman, MD - Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Surgeon.