#11-Denny Hamlin, widely considered Jimmie Johnson’s top threat in 2010, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee [clutch foot] Friday playing pickup basketball. Hamlin said he still expects to compete, but surgery isn’t an option at this time since the Sprint Cup season begins in two weeks. He plans to have surgery to repair the knee after the 2010 season. A team spokesman said the injury should not affect Hamlin’s ability to drive the car. “I planted my foot to make a move toward the basket, and my knee just shot directly out to the left,” Hamlin said. On Dec. 16, Hamlin had surgery on his right knee to repair the meniscus [also from basketball].(ESPN)(1-24-2010)
UPDATE: Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin shouldnt have too much trouble driving a race car despite a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, according to JGR President J.D. Gibbs and doctors familiar with ACL injuries. Hamlin, 29, uses his left foot to brake as well as to control the clutch in his #11 Toyota. ‘In essence, its not that big a deal given what drivers normally have to do in the car,’Â said ESPN analyst Dr. Jerry Punch, a former emergency-room physician. ‘No two people are the same in terms of how much instability they have when they tear an ACL. Typically, somebody that is Dennys age, young and in great physical shape, can rehab that knee without having it operated on.’Â The ACL keeps the lower part of the leg from moving forward when a person stops running. Starting and stopping quickly would make the knee feel unstable. It doesnt have to do with rotation or side-to-side movement, Punch said, and the pedals could be adjusted to make it more comfortable. Reconstructive ACL surgery requires six to 10 weeks of immobility, and thats why Hamlin plans to wait until after the season is over, Punch said. He could have arthroscopic surgery to clean out the injured area and that would require only 10 days of being off his feet, but Gibbs said that no surgery is planned.(Scene Daily)(1-27-2010)
