Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher finally undergoes knee surgery – NFL News
After spending all the offseason on rehabilitating his injured knee, Chicago Bears’ linebacker Brian Urlacher went through arthroscopic procedure on Tuesday, August 14, 2012.
Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith revealed this news while talking to the Associated Press. He admitted that the rehabilitation of Urlacher’s knee did not go as expected. He said:
"The treatment that we were giving Brian, he didn't respond as well as we wanted it to. So we had it scoped this morning, a minor scope on his knee. Everything came out the way that we wanted it to."
Urlacher sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) after colliding with safety Major Wright of Washington Redskins in the final game of the last season.
Because of this injury, Urlacher failed to participate in organised team activities and minicamp this season.
Urlacher did work very hard and went through various rehab drills in order to get fit. He also maintained his stance that he would be fit before the start of the 2012 season.
Yet, many questions have been raised on Urlacher’s denial to have the surgery in the early days of his injury.
Bears’ general manager explained why Urlacher finally needed surgery. He said:
"We decided it was best to be as conservative and careful as we could to give him the rest he needed. He felt better. He came back. He started practicing. He still didn't feel completely comfortable with it. Consulting with Brian, talking to our team physicians
and trainers, we decided to go ahead and move forward and have it scoped.”
Urlacher is entering last year of his current contract. He will have to prove this season that his knee is strong enough to go through the bruising of playing in such a tough league for years to come.
Bears themselves have said that there will be no meetings for the deal during the season, clearly showing lack of confidence in Urlacher’s current condition.
In Urlacher’s absence, six-season veteran Nick Roach will be the starter. Having played many seasons in the league, Roach should face no difficulty in replacing Urlacher as the starter.
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