Injured Crow Andy Otten said he knew “straight away” he’d ruptured his ACL when he collapsed to the ground during Adelaide’s big win over the Brisbane Lions on Sunday.
Otten, 25, sustained the injury as he prepared to contest a mark in the second quarter at the Gabba.
Scans in Adelaide on Monday confirmed the utility had torn the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee. It was a cruel and familiar blow for Otten, who had a full reconstruction on his opposite (left) knee after rupturing his ACL at pre-season training in December, 2009.
Otten admitted it was hard to take, but said the only way was forward.
“I planned to bump a bloke and take a nice mark but, unfortunately, my knee gave way. I knew straight away I’d done my ACL. It was exactly the same as last time,” Otten said on Wednesday.
“I heard the sound. It was very loud and a few of the boys said they heard it as well.
“It’s tough, but what can you do?”
In consultation with his surgeon and Crows doctor, Dr Andrew Potter, Otten decided to have a second traditional reconstruction rather than the quick-fix LARS procedure.
“I spoke with my surgeon about LARS, but he didn’t think it was a viable option for me. I’m still young enough (to recover from another traditional reconstruction),” Otten said.
“LARS has a higher re-rupture rate. Doc Potter and my surgeon had a chat about it and thought this was the best way for me going forward to give myself the best chance of playing.”
Otten had successful surgery on Tuesday evening and is now focused on the long road back.
The 2013 Coach’s Award winner said his experience in ‘09’ would help him this time around.
“The surgery went well. It was the same surgeon who did my last knee reconstruction and that has held up well. There were no complications and everything went smoothly,” Otten said.
“I know what’s ahead. I kept a journal last time of what I did, so I’ll be flicking through that to see what worked and what can help me especially in this early part.”