After a valiant attempt to come back from knee surgery fell short, Lee Evans was understandably disappointed. Now, it must be difficult for the star UW wideout not to be devastated.
UW coach Barry Alvarez announced Monday that Evans will require a second surgery on the injured ACL that kept him on the sidelines all season, after swelling in the knee failed to subside.
“Lee has had three different opinions to address the continued swelling he’s had in his knee, and consensus was that he would have to have the knee and the surgery redone. As you would expect, Lee is very disappointed, but one thing about him, he’s not discouraged,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said Dr. Ben Graf will redo the surgery at UW Hospital this Friday.
The announcement was the most recent disappointment for Evans, who tore his ACL during the football team’s spring game April 20. Evans’ recovery was progressing extremely well, and the senior hoped to miss only UW’s five preseason games and play in the Big Ten opener against Penn State. Swelling in his knee kept Evans sidelined, however, and he was shut down for the season the week before UW’s game against Michigan State Oct. 26.
Alvarez said he didn’t think anyone could take the blame for Evans’ unfortunate situation.
“I don’t think he re-injured it, I just think there were some things that were causing the swelling that they thought might settle down with some rest but didn’t,” Alvarez said.
“He followed the doctor’s orders as far as his rehab, he didn’t get ahead of anyone else, and he was never hit or anything. I think he had his full strength back within a month, so I don’t think that had anything to do with it.”
Alvarez also emphasized that doctors still feel that Evans could have a full recovery.
“I think it’s the same recovery time frame as the last one, I think they say approximately … six months,” Alvarez said. “The most important thing right now is to have a successful surgery and have him rehabilitate, then take a look and see where he is at that time. The doctors are optimistic.”
And after the surgery Friday, it’ll be decision time again for Evans. For the second time in the past year, Evans will have to choose between entering the NFL draft and returning to UW.
After his phenomenal 2001 season, in which he set the Big Ten single-season receiving record with 1,545 yards and scored 9 touchdowns, Evans opted to come back to UW for his senior season instead of entering the draft.
Because he did not play a game this season, Evans could apply for a medical redshirt and return once again to the Badgers. Or Evans could take his chances and enter the draft as one of the most physically uncertain top prospects in recent years after two surgeries and not having played a game in over a year.
Alvarez said that he had complete confidence that Evans could come back from the surgery, but said that Evans’ decision to enter the NFL or return was not on his mind.
“I’m sure he’s going to fight and battle and rehab through this surgery just as he did the last one. I know there’s a guarded optimism about a total recovery of the knee,” Alvarez said. “Will he come back [to UW]? That’s the last thing on our minds right now. It’s most important that the surgery is done well and that he has a full recovery, and we’ll support him the best we can. If anybody can battle back and have that thing totally recovered, it’s Lee.”
UW quarterback Brooks Bollinger said he and the team will continue to support their fallen teammate in his recovery.
“It’s a horrible situation. If you look back at how hard he worked and all the stuff he did and where he seemed to be earlier in the year and how optimistic everything was, and then have things go the way they did for him with this now, it’s tough for him,” Bollinger said. “I just try to stay supportive of him and hope that things work out for the best in the future, because with a kid like that, he deserves nothing but the best.”
