Injured Hertl is upbeat about recovery
He says he will be ready by start of training camp
SAN JOSE >> Tomas Hertl said Monday he is confident he’ll be ready for the start of training camp in the fall after he rehabilitates the torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee.
Hertl, who suffered the injury in a Jan. 29 game with the Vancouver Canucks, had surgery Feb. 3 and as of two days ago, no longer has to walk around with crutches as he begins the recovery process.
“I don’t mind working out, and I know I will get
back, and I will have no issues,” Hertl said. “So that’s the positive side. I’m just looking forward to every day, getting stronger.”
Hertl, still wearing a sizable brace on his left leg, said he feels he’s ahead of schedule on his recovery, as he worked out Monday for the first time, using the exercise bike with one leg. He plans to stay in San Jose for the rest of the season.
“You feel after 10 days, even if you’re not eating much and everything, you feel kind of weird because you’re so used to (working out) every day,” Hertl said. “So even doing that today was nice, get a little sweat and keep in shape. But now it’s more about the other knee.”
One fortunate aspect of Hertl’s injury was that he did not suffer damage to the meniscus.
When Sharks defenseman Radim Simek also suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee in March 2019, he also damaged the meniscus. Simek had to have a cleanup procedure on the meniscus in June of last year and did not return to the Sharks’ lineup until November. He also missed time in December to alleviate some discomfort in the knee related to the meniscus.
Hertl, 26, suffered his injury in the first period of the game with the Canucks. Christopher Tanev slid in front of the Vancouver net as he was trying to block a
shot by Hertl, and collided with Hertl’s left leg.
Hertl felt when the collision with Tanev first occurred that he had damaged his MCL again. But an MRI the following day revealed that he had also torn the ACL.
“I knew something had happened, but not that bad because I just stand up and skate away,” Hertl said. “We tried to tape it up and try a little skate. But I know the MCL, because I’ve had the MCL (injury) many times, so I know how it feels. So I said, I don’t feel comfortable. I don’t want to come back.
“That’s why I was still kind of OK, because you think it’s the MCL. It’s as not as long like the ACL. But when I heard from doctors, it was kind of a shock. Even after a day, it wasn’t swollen, it wasn’t that painful. I just kind of felt the MCL. But when they checked the MRI, they said (the ACL) was done.”
Hertl said it was a positive thing that there wasn’t much swelling around his left knee, so he could have surgery a few days after the incident.
“I wanted to just get it done and start working out,” Hertl said. “The sooner you get the range of motion in the muscle, it’s easier just to do everything.
“I just now am looking forward to keep working and get back,” Hertl said. “It’ll be a big break for me, but I can’t wait for September and play hockey again. I know I will come back even better than I was before.”
Just four days before the injury, Hertl had stolen the show at NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis, scoring five goals in two 3-on-3 games to help the Pacific Division team win the tournament. Minutes before he was injured, Hertl had scored the first goal in the game against the Canucks.
“I had just come from the all-star (game), got a great week ... and this happened,” Hertl said. “I know what I did before. I know I can work hard and get it back even stronger. I’ve got seven months to get ready, so I should be ready for the season.”
In 2013, Hertl suffered damage to the MCL and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee in a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown.
Although his ACL was not affected, Hertl, just 20 years old at the time, needed surgery, and missed roughly four months before he returned to play two games at the end of the regular season before the Sharks played the Kings in the first round of 2014 playoffs.
“Last time I had zero experience, not even (any) English, so I (didn’t) know what to do,” Hertl said. “Now I get through it. I was kind of helping (Simek) when he got through it, too. (Joe Thornton) same thing. All of the guys that have gone through a knee injury, it’s not easy. It’s long way, but you have to just work hard. You have to do all day something, because you have to get your range or motion back.
“But if you work, you will get it back. I already proved I can come back even better.”
The Sharks are 2-1-0 without Hertl and 5-5-0 without captain Logan Couture, who suffered a fractured bone in his left ankle in Jan. 7 game against the St. Louis Blues. While Hertl is lost for the season, Couture could be back in the lineup in two or three weeks time.
The Sharks played the Calgary Flames at home on Monday night.
”I don’t know how he does it, but he’s still got a smile on his face every day,” Sharks interim coach Bob Boughner said of Hertl. “He’s happy to see the team playing well, and (Couture) is the same. They feel bad when they’re out and they can’t help. So if we can keep plugging away here and getting some points, that makes things easier on everybody.”