Roar of hope: Drummond aims to rebound from ACL pain AFL.com.au
January 29, 2016NATHAN Drummond hopes a visit to world-renowned knee specialist Bill Knowles in the US will help him return to full training next month as the young Tiger recovers from a knee reconstruction.
Knowles has worked with such stars as Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning and, in 2013, helped Adelaide skipper Taylor Walker recover from a similar knee injury.
Drummond spent almost two weeks abroad in December, visiting Knowles in New York before catching the train to Philadelphia to begin training.
The 21-year-old's AFL debut against Melbourne in round four last year went horribly wrong late in the second quarter, when he fell awkwardly and ruptured his ACL.
Drummond told the Tigers' website about the pain of suffering such a significant injury in his first game, but also about his rehabilitation trip to the US.
“The first few days were just a lot about athletic positions and trying to lengthen my hip and trying to straighten my knee back out," Drummond said.
“(It) then progressed into gymnastics and sprints and agility, and then at the end of the week a bit of jumping and landing, which was good because that’s how I did my knee.
“I was a bit nervous doing a couple of jumping things, but once I fell and got a couple of hits it was a good confidence booster for me.”
Drummond said he aimed to return to full training in February.
Until then he remains focused on bulking up and adding strength to his affected leg.
"At the moment I'm just working on some strength and trying to get my size in my quad back up…also trying to get my leg a bit straighter," he said.
"Also working on speed and agility … and then the next month I'll probably work on some aerobic capacity and just building up my running to 8-10km sessions instead of 4-5 which I've been doing."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-01-28/young-tiger-sets-his-sights-on-return
