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Bombers’ draft pick Kris Robertson reveals on Twitter he tore his ACL, will miss season

andrew bucholtz

After a meteoric rise this offseason, Winnipeg Blue Bombers' defensive back Kris Robertson's fortunes have taken a sharp downturn. Robertson wasn't even initially invited to the CFL's pre-draft national combine, but worked his way in through one of the new regional combines and promptly blew away the field in the 40-yard dash, the broad jump and the vertical jump. Despite the lack of attention he received before the combine, his performance there made him a likely draft pick in at least the late rounds, and then Winnipeg surprised a lot of mock draft writers by taking him in the second round (11th overall). The sky seemed like the limit for Robertson, given his explosive athleticism and his history of success at the CIS level (he was named a second-team All-Canadian as a returner this year and also led Concordia with four interceptions, and he was a first-team All-Canadian as a returner in 2011), but things started to fall Friday, when he revealed on Twitter that he tore his ACL:

The Bombers later confirmed Robertson's comment with a statement from general manager Joe Mack, adding that they expect Robertson to be out for the year:

"Our organization was very much looking forward to Kris coming to camp this year but unfortunately he has suffered a serious knee injury after the draft that will force him to miss the entire season. We wish him well in his recovery and anticipate him joining our team next year."

ACL injuries can be particularly dangerous, especially for players who depend on explosiveness. They also tend to involve significant recovery time. However, they're far from a career-dooming sentence, and Minnesota Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson provides a case in point. A torn ACL usually requires at least a year before players can return to action, and for many, it takes another year before they're at their peak, but Peterson returned to game action 263 days after his surgery and put up one of the most dominant seasons by a running back in NFL history, even more remarkable considering that he also ruptured his MCL. As Sports Illustrated's Ben Reiter wrote last year, drive and determination can overcome a lot:

Peterson's most prominent scars are on his left knee, and he acquired those from the scalpel of famed orthopedic surgeon James Andrews in Birmingham just six days after the injury. There are two scars, because Peterson also ruptured his MCL on that afternoon against the Redskins. Most ACL patients wait several weeks for surgery, so that the swelling can subside, but Peterson, with Week 1 in mind, insisted on going under the knife as soon as possible. Andrews operated on the morning of Dec. 30. That afternoon he explained to Peterson that he most likely wouldn't be able to even lift his damaged leg from a seated position for two weeks. "Like this?" Peterson asked, as he lifted the leg. "Like that," Andrews said.

One of the most important parts of rehabilitation, [Vikings' athletic trainer Eric] Sugarman explains, is managing the athlete's expectations so that he doesn't get discouraged during the painful and grueling process. "Some mornings I might have been like, I'm not sure how he's going to do," Sugarman says, of Peterson. "By the end of the day there was never a doubt. He blew away every landmark, every goal we had."

By April, four months after his surgery, Peterson had grown weary of competing just against his own healing body. One day he wistfully watched as his teammates ran a set of 16 gassers—sprints from sideline to sideline and back, each of which must be completed in under 16 seconds—as part of their off-season conditioning program. He asked Sugarman if he could join them. "I say, 'Adrian, that's not a good idea,'" Sugarman recalls. "He says, 'Listen, I'm not foolish, I'll be under control. Let me get two reps with those guys.' He did it, and he blew everyone away."

Robertson can certainly use Peterson's case as inspiration, and Peterson provides proof that it's definitely possible to fully recover from an ACL injury. However, even a Peterson timetable would have him out for the entire 2013 CFL season, and it's been pointed out time and time again that Peterson is an exceptional case. Andrews' book Any Given Monday cites ACL injuries as the most common knee injury in football, and says they can "adversely affect the player's long-term involvement in the sport". ACL injuries have also been called "the most devastating injury in football", and although many have successfully recovered even after a couple of ACL tears, they're still very concerning. We'll see how Robertson does with his recovery. Regardless, this is a devastating setback for him in an offseason that had gone so well until this point.