Favre’s surgery successful, but still not certain to play
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre underwent successful ankle surgery last month according to his doctor, James Andrews. The surgery means the NFL legend will have a few weeks of recovery and healing before he makes a decision on whether to play again for the 2010 season.
Favre, 41 underwent the surgery to repair years of damage to his ankle. Scar tissue had built up, reducing the quarterback’s mobility and flexibility in his ankle, as well as painful bone spurs. His surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, spoke about the procedure and the aftermath of the surgery for Favre.
It went fine," said Andrews on Wednesday. "He's rehabbing and trying to decide what he's going to do. I talked to him yesterday."
Favre has not said publicly whether he’ll return to play again in 2010 for the Vikings. Favre had a terrific season in 2009, throwing 33 touchdown passes and helping lead the Vikings to a divisional title. Favre, not having won a Super Bowl since 1997, nearly managed to take his team into the Super Bowl match but ultimately threw a critical interception in the NFC championship game during the fourth quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach.
This isn’t the first time Favre has been operated on, undergoing a very similar procedure in 2007 to remove bone spurs. Andrews , a well-known and trusted surgeon in the world of professional sports, said he’s worked on Favre before in the past twice, once last year for his shoulder and once twenty years ago for his elbow.
Vikings hope to have Favre back
For the Vikings, Favre’s return has been one of the main question marks surrounding their year. Favre has not made a commitment either way, but it is expected by many within the organization that he will in fact return. On ESPN 1000’s “The Waddle & Silvy Show,” defensive end Jared Allen said he was confident the Vikings would see their star quarterback return.
"If I was a betting man, and I had to put money on it today, absolutely," said Allen. "I hope if the answer was no, he would have already had the wherewithal to tell us that he's not coming back so we could have done something in free agency. But again, the man's earned the right to do what he pleases. He hasn't let anybody down yet, so I'm not here to start harping on it yet."
Favre’s return a familiar question mark
Allen’s confidence may be based on the fact that Favre has famously had a very difficult time staying away from football. Speculation about whether Favre would continue to play has been a continuing theme of the football off-season since 2006, when Favre was said to be first considering ending his career. He announced his retirement in 2008 at a tearful press conference in March of that year, but changed his mind four months later. When he did return though, it was with the New York Jets, playing a 2008 season with mixed results.
At the end of that season, he retired yet again, before coming back to play again in the 2009 season with the Vikings. He proved any doubters completely wrong by having one of the best seasons of his career.
He re-injured his ankle in the 2009 NFC championship game, leading to last month’s surgery, which once again put his career in jeopardy. Favre has said he would willingly retire were it not for the fact he was enjoying his stay in Minnesota so much.
"This decision would be easy if not for my teammates and the fans and the entire Vikings staff. One year truly felt like 10 -- much like Green Bay for many years. That's what I was missing in my heart I suppose, a sense of belonging," said Favre in a statement on April 30.
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