Milton’s dislocated knee ‘as bad as it gets’

The Heisman Trophy ballots come out this week, and that makes me happy.

And sad.

It makes me happy because at this time last year, I had McKenzie Milton No. 1 on my ballot because I was so captivated with the way he played quarterback and the frolicking fun he brought to the game.

And I am sad because it finally hit me on Tuesday that we may never get to see McKenzie play football again.

His parents released a statement from Tampa General Hospital, where McKenzie is recovering from emergency surgery to restore the blood flow to his lower right leg. If the surgery had not been successfully completed within 4 to 6 hours after the injury cut off vascular blood flow, there was the possibility McKenzie could have lost his leg.

This isn’t just a run-ofthe-mill torn ACL, where doctors repair it and you’re back in six to eight months. Milton’s injury — a dislocated knee — is infinitely worse because the entire knee joint itself was displaced and all four major ligaments that secure the knee were ruptured.

“I knew how devastating it was as soon I saw it on TV,” said orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter Indelicato, the team physician emeritus for the Florida Gators. “A dislocated knee is as bad as it gets. It’s the worst knee injury you can have. He faces a real uphill battle to play again. It’s a long shot.”

Even though Indelicato hasn’t personally examined Milton, he’s seen hundreds of dislocated knees throughout his career. What makes Milton’s injury so uniquely serious, he says, is the related nerve damage, which often times doesn’t fully recover. You can have a dislocated knee without nerve damage (see Saints backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater) and a return to the field is much more likely.

According to Indelicato, Milton is facing at least one more surgery (for the total knee reconstruction) and possibly more. If Milton plays again for UCF, it will be in 2020 and he would need an NCAA waiver to make that happen.