Dr. Jung says newer protocols has accelerated time of recovery.
The Broncos are going to be without one of their young linebackers into the regular season.
Second-year player Drew Sanders tore his Achilles tendon about a month ago during the early part of Denver’s offseason workout program, sources confirmed Monday to The Denver Post
Sanders, a third-round draft pick in 2023, played inside linebacker after first being drafted and then during the season switched full-time to outside linebacker.
Though an Achilles injury is substantial, players aren’t missing as much time as they used to due to new surgical procedures. Broncos’ wide receiver Tim Patrick tore his Achilles on Aug. 1 last summer and by the end of the regular season was running hard and cutting during his workouts on the side field of Denver’s practice area. He may have returned to action had he not been placed on injured reserve before the roster cutdown, which made him ineligible for the entire season.
The timing of the injury means there is a chance Sanders returns at some point during the regular season. At minimum, though, his second professional season will be cut short by a considerable margin due to the injury.
When Patrick tore his Achilles, Dr. Kenneth Jung, an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles told The Post that the success rate of rehab is accelerating. “There’s newer protocols now where we’re definitely accelerating rehab,” Jung said then. “It’s somewhere between six and nine months.”
