At a Glance
Player: Jordan Love
Position: Quarterback
Team: Green Bay Packers
Injury: MCL Sprain
Projected Recovery Time: 3-6 weeks
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Each week of the 2024-25 NFL season we’ll cover a high profile injury that occurs in the NFL – describing the injury, the role of physical therapy in the recovery and projected recovery time. Make sure to check in each week!
Week 1 of the NFL regular season already plenty of injuries across the league
The first injury we’ll be talking about belongs to Green Bay Packer QB, Jordan Love, who suffered an MCL sprain in the Eagles / Packers game on Friday night in Sao Paulo Brazil
After a strong performance at the end of last season, the Packers had high expectations of their newer QB, Jordan Love. Unfortunately Week 1 did not go the way of Green Bay. The team lost to the Eagles 29-35 and with just 6 seconds left of the game, Love got wrapped up in a tackle from Eagles defenders Jalen Carter and Josh Sweat and went down awkwardly, with what was later reported as a sprained Medial Collateral Ligament, or MCL.
The MCL is one of the main stabilizing structures of the knee. It is on the inside of the knee so when the knee is bent inwards it can be stretched or torn if there is enough force. When the MCL is torn there is less static stability of the knee joint requiring more muscle activity to control the joint movement. This can put more stress on the meniscus, so it is important to rest and allow full healing to prevent further damage. MCL injuries often accompany ACL tears, but luckily for Love, his ACL is reportedly still intact.
While timing of his return is still undetermined, it’s reported that he will be out for 3-6 weeks and he will likely be spending lots of that time with his PT team to make sure he is fully able to return to high level play. ACL and MCL injuries are associated with the valgus position so a huge focus on Love’s rehab program will be injury prevention. Strengthening the hips by doing variations of bridges and hip abduction exercises helps a person maintain a healthier knee position to avoid that valgus, and a lot of time will be dedicated to Love maintaining that healthy knee position while performing dynamic activities.
The injury is a blow to the Packers’ season but at least its not a season-ender for the QB!
Click here to read more about ACL and MCL sprains
Categorized as: 2024 NFL Blog,3DPT's NFL Injury Review