How long will Phillies' Rhys Hoskins' ACL injury recovery take?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There are a lot of questions after the Phillies' first baseman Rhys Hoskins went down with a torn ACL in a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
Darick Hall will likely be Hoskins' replacement, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said Friday. You can hear his full comments in the video here.
We spoke to Dr. Arthur Bartolozzi, who is renowned in sports medicine, particularly for his work in treating knee and ligament injuries.
What is an ACL?
The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is one of two cruciate ligaments that crisscross and form an X inside the knee joint, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In anatomy, anterior means "front."
The ACL runs diagonally in the middle of the knee and helps you rotate it.
How did Rhys Hoskins' ACL injury happen?
Hoskins was backing up to play a chopper on Thursday when the ball popped out of his glove. Soon after, he fell to the ground and began clutching his left knee. Teammates gathered around him before he was taken off of the field.
"It occurred just as many do, non-contact, where you're suddenly changing direction. And if you look at the athletes that have this injury, they're going one way, they suddenly turn another," Bartolozzi said.
It only takes 70 milliseconds, or 0.07 seconds, to tear an ACL, he added.
"It's just maybe some unexpected hitting of the ground, or some unexpected turning, that causes that."
What is ACL repair surgery like?
"Usually, you take a piece of tissue from part of the knee, often the patellar tendon or the quadriceps tendon or the hamstrings...put it back in the place where the ACL was first located," Bartolozzi said.
"It involves drilling a bone, and making some tunnels, and using some screws or other fixation to fix it," he added. "And once it's fixed, it's just a matter of healing, recovering, recovering muscle function, gaining motion."
How long does ACL surgery recovery take?
Hoskins is "such a great athlete, a great competitor, he'lll do really well with rehabilitation," Bartolozzi said. "It does take time as well."
He estimated it could take six to nine months for recovery.
"This used to be a career-ending injury, but now with new surgical techniques, we can get athletes back and full functioning, they can get back to normal activities."
The recovery is tough, but with enough rehabilitation, athletes can get back to business, Bartolozzi said.
The Phillies are expected to provide more information on Hoskins' injury and recovery process in a news conference Friday morning.