Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback J.J McCarthy put together a good preseason debut against the Raiders on Saturday.McCarthy completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards, throwing two touchdowns and one interception. Although McCarthy played well against the Raiders, he still has lots to improve on. However, before Monday night’s practice, head coach Kevin O’Connell told the media that McCarthy wouldn’t be practicing because he reported soreness in his right knee.
Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said QB J.J. McCarthy came in today and reported right knee soreness. He’s getting testing done.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 12, 2024
Report: Vikings Quarterback J.J McCarthy To Undergo Meniscus Surgery
Hearing that a player is having testing done because of near soreness should immediately raise some red flags. The knee is home to some of the most important ligaments in your leg, including the ACL, MCL, and meniscus. Injruying any one of these ligaments can put an athlete out for an extended period of time.
On Tuesday morning, Ian Rapoport confirmed that McCarthy has a meniscus issue.
As with most meniscus surgeries, there will be a determination made during the procedure to either trim or repair. The trim would mean out a few weeks. The repair would be many months. https://t.co/koVHkVdfDH
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 13, 2024
McCarthy and the Vikings can either have surgery completed to fix the meniscus issue or do rehab. If they choose to do rehab, the recovery time is 4-6 weeks.
As far as surgery is concerned, McCsarhy can have done two different types of surgeries. The first is called a meniscectomy or meniscus removal, which takes 4-6 weeks to recover from. The only downside to this is it can lead to more injuries. The other surgery MccArthy can have done is a meniscus repair, which is better for long-term knee health but will keep him out for 4-6 months,
Vikings QB JJ McCarthy Injury 🤕
Welp, this has developed FAST 😅
From vague seemingly minor knee “soreness” to an MRI revealing meniscus damage
The meniscus works as a protective shock absorption layer for the knee
The big thing here is the variety in recovery timelines… pic.twitter.com/RMmiESPoC2
— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) August 13, 2024
McCarthy is suffering an injury like this right now, which is rough because it affects his development. However, hopefully, McCarthy will be able to recover from this injury with rehab alone. If that’s not possible and he needs surgery and misses extended time, then he might not be ready to play next season. While McCarthy getting injured is hard news to hear, all that can be done is to wish for him to have a speedy recovery.
Main Image: Patrick Breen – USA Today Sports