Leggett’s rehab ahead of schedule

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/04/2018 (2752 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was as common a play as any in professional football.

So when Maurice Leggett saw the ball sailing directly toward him following an onside kick attempt by the B.C. Lions near the end of a home game last October, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back did what he had done thousands of times before: he leaped up, reaching his hands into the air.

What happened next was anything but ordinary. Leggett recovered the ball, clinching the victory for the Bombers, but on his way down to plant his feet he felt a weird sensation in the back of his right heel.

That marked the first day of what would be a long journey to repair a torn Achilles tendon. The diagnosis was grim, as doctors predicted it could be as many as nine months before Leggett was back playing football.

Needless to say, that didn’t sit well.

“I was just like, ‘that’s the end of June, that’s not happening,’” said Leggett, who, six months later, is one of 47 players attending Bombers mini-camp at Investors Group Field.

It’s quite the impressive feat that Leggett has returned this early, even if his workload is limited over the three-day camp. Initial reports were that he’d be lucky to return by May’s training camp. The chance of him starting Week 1 was also in doubt, as it would have meant Leggett was not only at 100 per cent but that his body was conditioned enough to withstand the rigours that come with playing football.

Ask him now, however, and he’s already reached that point.

“I could play a game tomorrow,” he said. “I know that for a fact.”

Though Leggett talks with relative ease about his recovery, there were certainly some dark days over the off-season, including doubts of whether the linebacker/defensive back would ever return to the game. Perhaps that’s why he hasn’t watched the replay of his injury; if he happens to catch it on TV he quickly changes the channel.

“What could I have done different? Curl up into a ball and fall on my shoulder?” he said. “I give everything I have every play, so I can’t be mad.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea can recall an injury like Leggett’s being much different 20 years ago, when he was an all-star linebacker in the CFL. Back then, he said, when a player suffered an Achilles tear the chance of a quick recovery was slim.

“I don’t know whether it’s new surgical techniques or the rehab protocol or whatever, I just think that guys come back better from that injury and maybe at a faster rate,” said O’Shea. “It’s a brutal injury because there is surgery involved and rehab but Moe works hard.”

For Bombers athletic therapist Alain Couture, to see Leggett on the field isn’t unusual. The suggested rehab period for a torn Achilles, he said, is anywhere between six and nine months, though he prefers players return in the later stages of that time frame.

“Moe will probably find that he’s going to feel better and better as every day goes by,” said Couture. “There’s good enough to play football and then it’s just feeling better and better as you go along.”

Leggett said the hardest part of his recovery was during the early stages of rehab, when the goal is simply to regain range of motion. For months, Leggett had to wear a boot that was wedged to restrict how far he could move his foot. After every couple of weeks, a wedge would be pulled out to allow him more flexibility.

“Really, the first couple of months are pretty boring,” said Couture. “There’s a lot of stuff to do but it’s certainly not as intense as he would have wanted it to be.”

Once he was able to regain his full range of motion, it was about gaining stability, which meant applying pressure to the ankle. After that, the goal is to strengthen the heel, working to get some of the muscle mass that was lost from being inactive.

“Lately we’ve been doing a lot of heavy running where we’re really pushing him,” added Couture. “Any time you’re dealing with a position where they’re explosive — running back, wide receiver, defensive back — there are concerns at those positions that they kind of get their pop back. So when you see them at that five-, six-month mark, where he is now, and they’re doing well at that point then you’re kind of optimistic that the athlete is going to get his form back.”

By being at mini-camp, Couture said it will also help Leggett improve from a mental standpoint. It’s been months since he’s been on the field, so to be able to feel like part of a team again, competing in football-related drills, should only help him.

“This is more of an integration period for him. It’s mentally getting back out there, it’s putting a helmet on again and doing some of the things that I can’t quite duplicate,” said Couture. “I wouldn’t say that this is physically taxing him. Everything we’ve done is harder than this but mentally he hasn’t experienced this.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton