Well, so much for holding out hope that the severity of Dee Hart‘s injury wouldn’t match the initial rumors.
Earlier today, multiple reports stated that the Alabama running back had sustained a knee injury Tuesday and that an MRI would be performed to determine the extent of the damage.
Apparently those results are in as Hart’s high school position coach has confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that his former player, and one of the top players in the 2011 recruiting class, tore an ACL in one his knees during a seven-on-seven passing drill. Hart, the coach said, is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday morning to repair the damage.
Fortunately for Hart, there was no damage to either his MCL or PCL, which would’ve likely lengthened the rehabilitation time frame.
Just as fortunately, Hart appears to be taking the medical setback in stride.
“He’s good, you know Dee,” Dr. Philips running backs coach Riki Smith told the Sentinel. “If that had to happen to any of our kids, that’s who I’d rather it happened to because he has the right mindset. The trainer told him ‘ok, you have surgery on Thursday and can start rehab next week’ and Dee said ‘what about Friday?’”
While there’s been no official confirmation from the school, it appears very likely Hart will be forced to sit out his true freshman season while he rehabs the knee.
As a five-star member of the Tide’s top-five 2011 recruiting class, Hart was rated as the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country by Rivals.com, and the No. 19 player at any position.
UPDATED 4:08 p.m. ET: An Orlando television station is reporting that Hart will be out of action for at least seven months and as many as 10. Obviously, even the most optimistic number in that time frame would mean he’ll miss the entire 2011 season, although we’re still awaiting official word from the school.