Evans could miss NLL season
Toronto Rock player recuperating from October knee surgery after playing injured for Peterborough Lakers
Turner Evans didn’t know a knee injury he played through in the Major Series Lacrosse playoffs and Mann Cup was as serious as it turned out.
Evans, 24, could miss the entire NLL season with the Toronto Rock after undergoing knee surgery in October. He was on crutches for eight weeks afterwards and just got off them last week.
“Now I’m building some strength back into my leg and I’ll still be a few months out, if not more, from playing. I’m not sure if I’ll get the chance to play this winter,” Evans said.
He was originally diagnosed with a meniscus ligament tear during the summer after first experiencing some pain in his knee late in the Rock’s season. Players can usually play through an MCL injury with a knee brace.
During the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers semifinal against the Brooklin Redmen the knee bothered him when playing on the hard concrete floor at Whitby’s Iroquois Park Arena. He missed one game in the series but went on to be an integral part of their success in the final and Mann Cup.
“Playing on the other floors wasn’t too much of an issue. I felt like they had a little more give,” he said.
Evans didn’t play like an injured player. His play at the Mann Cup was among his best as a senior Laker. He netted 14 points in the six games.
“It was one of those injuries where it doesn’t impact what you’re able to do, it’s just a pain tolerance thing,” he said. “Knowing I was eventually going to get it taken care of, it didn’t really affect me mentally. I knew what it was and that it was not going to get any worse playing on it.”
When he went into surgery, which he had postponed until after the Mann Cup, the surgeon discovered significant cartilage damage. He performed microfracture surgery to increase blood flow to encourage cartilage regeneration. It all came as a surprise to Evans, who thought he was simply getting an MCL cleanup.
“They said about six weeks is when you’ll be able to put weight on it and going into the surgery I figured I’d be back playing in that amount of time,” he said.
“It was tough to hear especially the timing of coming off a Mann Cup and having a decent season with the Lakers. I was looking forward to getting things going this winter so it was a little bit of a setback. It’s something, I guess, that needed to be done at the time. Looking forward I feel it’s probably in my best interests to get it taken care of now.”
Now Evans is working with physiotherapist Josh Martin at Return to Function and strength and conditioning coach Josh Gillam at Hybrid Fitness to get back in shape. He is also visiting the Toronto Rock medical staff weekly.
“I’m hoping I’ll be able to potentially get back on the floor and get things going late in the season but it’s one of those things where you just have to gauge your progress and go day-by-day,” Evans said.