Aaron Rodgers broke Jets fan’s hearts last season after suffering an Achilles injury just four snaps into his Jets debut. However, Rodgers was even more heartbroken for not living up to the expectations of his new team’s fans. The road to recovery since then has been tough. In his recent interview, Rodgers shed light on his frame of mind in those months of despair.
Advertisement
An Achilles tear at the age of 40 is an easy nine to eleven-month recovery period for even the crème de la crème of athletes. However, Rodgers defied all odds and stunned the NFL world by returning to the practice field in a mind-boggling 11 weeks.
In his conversation with the New York-based radio station WFAN, A-Rod revealed that he achieved this “beautiful little miracle” by giving his all. However, even his superhuman recovery time wasn’t enough as the Jets failed to make the playoffs, essentially rendering A-Rod’s playoffs return useless.
From getting injured on his debut to seeing his hard work go to waste, Rodgers was unsurprisingly sad about it all. He admitted in the interview that he was in a dark place at that time.
But in hindsight, the QB expressed gratitude for the tough days because he learned a lot while going through these extreme ebb and flows in the past months.
“I think there were some really special things that happened in my life during the last 10 months, but I think I had to go to some dark places in order to to fully experience the highs, the lows and the in-between… [So] I’m going to try and stay more in-between for the next run.”
It’s heartening to see the Packers legend look back at the tough times fondly. A lot has been written about him over the last 10 months and his still having a positive attitude is a testament to his unwavering mental strength. After all, if someone can defy nature and recover fully from a serious Achilles injury in three months, their mental resilience is bound to be insane.
Throwback to Aaron Rodgers’ miraculous Achilles injury recovery
After news of Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tendon tear surfaced, a research paper from “Foot & Ankle International” went viral which revealed that professional athletes take an average of 11 months to recover from an Achilles tendon tear. But A-Rod defied the odds by returning back to the field in just three months as mentioned before.
But how did A-Rod achieve this feat at the age of 40? The answer is simple. In typical Aaron Rodgers style, the QB ditched traditional methods and opted for a mix of alternate therapies, treatments and a “speed bridge repair”.
Rodgers first went under the knife and then opted for the relatively new “speed bridge” procedure to accelerate his rehab. The procedure immediately bore results as the Super Bowl-winning QB was able to walk without crutches in just eight weeks.
Moreover, during this tenure, A-Rod also used a hyperbaric chamber and other alternative therapies to speed up his rehab. A completely strict diet involving “high levels of curcumin, high levels of collagen, and drinking freakin’ bone broth every single day” also helped in the recovery. And voila, Rodgers was back on the practice field in just three months.
While the recovery did go to waste [in terms of on-field impact], it was a blessing in disguise as it ensured that Rodgers didn’t rush in his already ‘rushed in’ recovery schedule.
With nearly 10 months of more rest since the three-month return in December, A-Rod looks super fresh for the new season. Safe to say, he will leave no stone unturned to make it up to the Jets fans for the disappointment last season.
