LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — Seven months to the day after tearing the ACL in his right knee, Rashard Mendenhall said on Wednesday that he's "right on schedule" with his rehabilitation.
When asked if he has any idea what, exactly, that schedule entails, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back responded, "No, none at all."
Join the club. After all, uncertainty surrounding recovery from ligament reconstruction surgery is a trend for the Steelers.
Mendenhall is one of three veteran Pittsburgh starters who sustained torn ACLs in January. Nose tackle Casey Hampton and offensive tackle Max Starks each went down during Pittsburgh's wild card playoff loss in Denver Jan. 8.
Because of the position he plays and the sometimes-violent pressure placed on lateral movement of the knee by a running back, Mendenhall's recovery is being monitored most closely.
"He has to cut harder," said Hampton, who is rehabilitating from a torn ACL for the third time, "and have more confidence in his knee before he comes back."
