After watching him perform in a Southern California park, Dr. Neal ElAttrache was incredibly impressed by Tom Brady’s recovery from knee surgery.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the NFL star’s surgery and physical rehabilitation, ElAttrache told The Times that Brady “even exceeded what I thought he was going to be able to do, and I was expecting big things from him.”
With Brady’s permission, ElAttrache spoke about the knee reconstruction, treatment of a subsequent infection, and the patient’s unwavering focus to recuperate in time to play this season.
“With regard to his recovery of strength, I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” said ElAttrache, who serves as team physician for the Dodgers and worked with the L.A. Rams. “With an average person, it would have taken probably twice as long to get range of motion and strength back.”
As the article mentions, Brady received some flack when he chose ElAttrache over one of the team’s doctors. At first, it seemed like a viable criticism. After all, if the team was going to sink millions of dollars into Brady’s athletic abilities, then they should have the right to know who’s working on their star quarterback’s knee.
But Brady had it right all along. It’s his knee and therefore he had the right to pick the doctor he wanted. As it turns out, his recovery has been fantastic and unless he suffers a setback, he should be ready to go Week 1 of the season.
He still has a long way to go and I’m sure they’re going to remain overly cautious with him, but the Patriots must obviously be ecstatic by this news.
