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Former trainer says Hertl could miss anywhere between 3-9 months

hertlgetty

James OBrien

San Jose Sharks rookie Tomas Hertl underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and the team announced that they expect a full recovery. The question is: how long will that rehab take?

CSNBayArea.com’s Kevin Kurz caught up with an anonymous former NHL trainer who gave a best-case scenario for Hertl’s return (three months) and grimmer outlook that would span six-to-nine months.

“A PCL is about as big around as your pinkie,” The unnamed trainer said. “Let’s say a quarter of the PCL was torn, and they went in and cleaned up the fibers, and stuff like that. Well, then it won’t be six months. It will probably be three months.

“Usually, a PCL repair or reconstruction is about the same rehab time as an ACL reconstruction. If they truly reconstructed and fixed it, it’s a six-to-nine month process.”

It’s not all bad news, according to the trainer (who hasn’t treated the 20-year-old). The bright side is that he didn’t damage his ACL, so he’s likely to avoid any long-term effects like a loss of explosiveness.

The waiting game might not be a lot of fun, but at least it sounds like Hertl will be OK when this all blows over. It’s just unclear when, exactly, that will happen.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins