Should i postpone my ACL surgery?
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on whether I should go ahead with my ACL reconstruction this summer or postpone it until next year.
I completely tore my ACL and had a Grade 2 MCL tear in early March. I’m a competitive soccer player and was hoping to play at university, but unfortunately I’ve had to let that dream go for now.
My ACL surgery is currently scheduled for July 24. The issue is that I’ll be leaving for university in mid to late August, only about 4–5 weeks after surgery. I don’t know exactly where I’m going yet, but there’s a good chance I’ll be living more than 6 hours away from home and will need to be fully independent.
I really want to get the surgery done as soon as possible so I can start recovering and eventually return to soccer. However, my family thinks I should wait until I come back home next May so that I can recover with more support.
To make things more complicated, about three weeks ago my knee gave out badly while i stepped weird. I ended up going to the hospital by ambulance. They said I likely aggravated the injury and may have worsened my MCL injury.
I’m stuck because,
- If I have surgery in July, I can start recovery sooner, but I’ll be managing the early stages of rehab while adjusting to university on my own.
- If I wait until next May, I’ll have more support at home, but that delays recovery by almost a full year.
Has anyone here had ACL surgery right before starting university or living away from home? Do you think it’s realistic to manage the first few months of recovery independently, or would postponing be the smarter decision?
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!