Foreman injury Update -Foreman to have torn cartilage removed.(out for six months)

By Dan Rafael ESPN.com Archive Former junior middleweight titleholder Yuri Foreman will undergo reconstructive ACL surgery and have torn cartilage removed from his injured right knee on Friday, manager Murray "Schpipples" Wilson told ESPN.com on Tuesday night. Foreman injured the knee when it gave out on him and he tumbled to the canvas during the seventh round of his first title defense against Miguel Cotto on Saturday night in the first fight at Yankee Stadium in 34 years. Wilson said Foreman's surgery will take place at NYU Medical Center. "They're going to rebuild Yuri's ACL and take out the cartilage, basically give him a brand new knee," Wilson said. Foreman was hobbling on the knee throughout the eighth round, when trainer Joe Grier threw in the towel in an effort to stop the fight. However, referee Arthur Mercante, the only man with the official authority to stop the bout, made an unusual call by ignoring the corner's request -- even though the ring had filled with corner people and officials who assumed the bout was over. Foreman, a rabbinical student and the first Orthodox Jew in more than 70 years to hold a world title, told Mercante he wanted to continue and order was eventually restored before Cotto went on to stop Foreman with a body shot in the ninth round and claim a world title in his third weight class. But Foreman's heart gained him a lot of fans. "We've been getting messages and e-mails from people from all around the world who were impressed with Yuri's heart," Wilson said. "I'm very proud of Yuri with the way he fought. I think he'll come back better than ever." Wilson said the doctor said Foreman would be out for about six months. "He told Yuri, 'In six months, you'll be able to sit down on your punches and your knee will be stronger than it ever was.' He'll have more power because he'll be able to sit down on his punches better and have more leverage," Wilson said. "The doctor said, 'In six months, you'll be ready to rumble.' In four months, he should be able to walk around without a problem and exercise, but it's probably six months to fully recover. We're talking about maybe a fight in February. "Yuri's spirits are very good now. He has his head held high. The kid was in the fight. He knew it was just an unfortunate accident, but this kid don't want to quit." Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

Comments (9)

Mercante should to his next ref gig (if there is a next) with a thorn ACL. i wonder how long he would last

15y ago

40909

Torn cruciate ligaments are a common injury in Football (that's Soccer to Americans). They normally take 6 months to heal fully, after which the players need to regain their fitness, so they're normally sidelined for 8months or so. But Football requires more running (therefore more stress on the knees) that Boxing so maybe Yuri can comeback a bit quicker. If he doesn't retire, I expect him to take a tune up fight against a bum to get back into the groove. Then he'd look for bigger fights. If you take into consideration his fitness after such a long lay-off, weight gain and the fact that his training camps would have to be a bit less strenuous, I don't think he'll fight until April 2011.

15y ago

Scott9945

Mercante was just brilliant for insisting that Foreman take more punishment with an obviously damaged leg. :nonono:

15y ago

Evil_Abed

Mercante should go into the dr's office, and tell yuri to just rub some dirt on it and suck it up .............lol

15y ago

Evil_Abed

6 months isn't bad at all for a knee injury. Actually it sounds about average. The rehabilitation process is the most important part of the surgery. There is a long and rigorous process involved in getting back to one hundred percent. The doctor will start the patient on the rehabilitation program, which is broken down into phases: Phase 1: This step is called the early rehabilitation phase. This is basically the things that were covered in short term, things to reduce pain and swelling while gaining movement. Phase 2: This phase covers weeks 3 and 4. At this point the pain should be subsiding and the patient will be ready to try more things that their knee isn’t willing perform. That is why there is a lot of emphasis put on joint protection during this step. The patient will be able to start doing exercises such as mini wall sits and riding stationary bikes. The aim of this is to be able to bend the knee 100 degrees. Phase 3: This phase is known as the controlled ambulation phase and it covers weeks 4 to 6. At this point the patient will be doing the same exercises from phase 2 plus some more challenging ones. The patient will try to get their knee to bend 130 degrees during this stage. The aim during this period is to focus heavily on improving balance. Phase 4: This is the moderate protection phase and it covers weeks 6 to 8. In this period the patient will try to obtain full range of motion as well as increase resistance for the workouts. Phase 5: This is the light activity phase and it covers weeks 8 to 10. This period will place particular emphasis on strengthening exercises with increased concentration on balance and mobility. Phase 6: This is the return to activity phase and it lasts from week 10 until the target activity level is reached. At this point the patient will be able to start jogging and performing moderately intense agility drills. Somewhere between month 3 and month 6 the surgeon will probably request that the patient perform physical tests so s/he can monitor the activity level. When the doctor feels comfortable with the progress of the patient, s/he will clear that person to resume a fully active lifestyle.

15y ago

shogunn

Mercante should go into the dr's office, and tell yuri to just rub some dirt on it and suck it up

15y ago

2501

but naw, Foreman ain't no warrior.

15y ago

Evil_Abed

"They're going to rebuild Yuri's ACL and take out the cartilage, basically give him a brand new knee," Wilson said Its gonna be hard to return from this. Reminds me of Jesus Chavez when he collapsed against Diaz. I wish him all the best.

15y ago

boracay420

when Yuri stumbled onto the canvas did anybody notice how his lower leg was twisted? He must have taken a lot of pain as he struggled to get back up and continue the fight

15y ago