Carney begins rehabilitation for injured knee
1/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 11, 2008
Air Force senior quarterback Shaun Carney has started the road to recovery from a serious knee injury he suffered against California in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 31, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Carney received a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on his right knee this week that revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL). In addition, Carney's patella (commonly referred to as the knee cap) was dislocated at the time of the injury which was put back in place during his on-field examination by the Air Force athletic training staff. Carney suffered the injuries late in the third quarter on a run near the Cal goal line in Air Force's 42-36 loss to Cal.
Carney stayed on the sidelines after being helped off the field following the injury in support of his teammates, until being taken by the Air Force medical team for x-rays in the final moments of the game. The x-rays taken on the campus of TCU revealed no fractures.
The North Olmstead, Ohio, product returned to the Academy this week after completing his winter break leave. He is currently being treated for pain and swelling. Once the swelling subsides, range of motion returns to the knee and the MCL begins to heal on its own, Carney will undergo surgery to repair the other injured ligaments. No surgery date has been set, but the Academy medical staff estimates it will take place in roughly six weeks.
Carney is attending classes and gets around the Academy via wheelchair and crutches. He is expected to make a full recovery, but the process could take at least six months to a year. As a second semester senior at the Academy, he is not required to take the Academy Physical Fitness Test, which all cadets must take each semester. His only additional physical requirement for commissioning is to pass the Air Force Physical Fitness Test. In this case, Carney is treated like a member of the active duty Air Force. If members are unable to take the annual test due to illness or injury, they may have the test postponed until they are medically prepared to take the test.
The Academy athletic communications staff will continue to keep fans and media informed of Carney's progress through the athletic website at goairforcefalcons.com.
The following quotes are from Shaun Carney on his injury:
On the Injury
"I think I've had a pretty good attitude, but sometimes it gets more frustrating than others. For the most part, I am recuperating pretty well. I don't know when I'll be able to walk again. Hopefully I can walk before the surgery a little bit."
On the play
"I was trying to plant my foot and run over a linebacker. The safety or corner hit my leg, and then the linebacker hit me up top and another defensive lineman hit me from behind so my leg went one way and my body went the other. Something had to give and it was my knee. That's football. It wasn't a play I was trying to dodge a hit, I was trying to get in the end zone."
On the most frustrating part of the injury
"There is nothing more frustrating than leaving your teammates out on the field and having to watch them battle Cal. I felt like I could have made a difference in that game and it was hard to watch the lead slip away and then we ended up losing. That was the most frustrating part. Daily activities can get pretty tough, but I've had great help from the trainers here, my family and my finance has been unbelievable. The hardest part of the day for me is when I have to wheel across the terrazzo and there is snow on the ground. I have to have people push me. It's just hard not being independent."
On the conversation with the trainers on the field
"After it happened, the trainers were some doing tests on my knee. I have torn ligaments before, my MCL, and I knew the tests. I told them `Guys my knee is gone. It's toast.' And I said just get me off the field. I have never been carried off the field before in my life and I've played a lot of football games in high school and college. I didn't want to hold up the game. I just wanted to get to the sidelines and let everyone get on with the game."
On leaving the field and going to the locker room
"I really didn't want to leave the field, but it was getting cold and I was shaking pretty bad. They (the trainers and doctors) decided to get some x-rays right away because they thought there could have been a fracture. It's not the way I wanted to go off the field, but that is what they thought was best. I told the guys that we didn't go there to show up to a bowl and have a good time. We went there to win a football game and that was still my intention at the time."
On having family there at the game
"It was great to have my brothers (teammates) on the sideline with me. It was great to have my family down there too and that's when it started to get a little emotional. My family has been there with me the whole time and they knew how bad I wanted it. That's when the emotions set in. It wasn't only your last game, but it was their last game as well. It was hard when they got there. But at that time, the focus was still on my brothers (teammates) and winning the football game."
On completing his schooling and graduating
"That shouldn't be a problem. I've passed every physical fitness test with flying colors so when it comes time to graduate, I should be fine. I'll be able to recover fully from this injury. I'm no different than any other cadet that has ever been injured in the past."
On his post-graduate plans
"It is going to really be beneficial to me to be here coaching next season because my rehab it going to be about a year process. I'll be able to work with our trainers. I don't think there is any other physical therapy staff in the country or in the Air Force that can deal with me and the injury better than they can so I am excited about that."
About the possibility of flying
"My fiancé and I are still talking about it. She has some goals she wants to accomplish so our life is going to take a path where she can achieve some of her goals. She did so much to come out here so our relationship can grow and I can still play football here at the Academy. Right now it is her focus and I support her 100 percent. Later on down the road if we decide that flying is something we want to do than that it the way we'll go."
On thinking about getting injured in a game
"It is something you think about every week. There is a possibility every week that you won't finish the game. Every run you have, you get to the sideline and decide am I going to take this guy on. Is it a DB or a defensive lineman and you have to make those decisions very quickly? Early in the game I tired to run over one of their corners on about the five-yard line and I decided that was a good idea. Maybe trying to run over one of their middle linebackers was not such a good idea."
On getting injured in his final game
"If it was ever going to happen, I am grateful that it happened in my last game ever because I was able to play so much football and enjoy my Falcon football experience. I have been very lucky to have not gotten injured in my career. I think I have been pretty smart about not taking big hits."
