Rivers making good progress

Adjust font size

Thursday, Feb 14, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Three weeks into his rehab after having his right Anterior Cruciate Ligament replaced, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers finds that patience is one of his biggest challenges in a recovery that has been very smooth to this point.

“The competitor in me says, ‘What can I do now? Can I do a little more tomorrow?’” Rivers said. “I’ve got to understand that it is a process, but I think at this stage of the game I’m way ahead of where most people at three weeks are.

“I obviously feel a lot better than I did three weeks ago. I think the hardest thing for me is each day you get a little better, each day you feel a little better, but you’ve still got to stay patient and understand that it takes some time.”

Just after undergoing the surgery, Rivers was challenged to fully commit himself to recovery, and hard work is something he has never shied away from.

“Talking to our athletic training staff, Dr. (David) Chao and people who have been around this injury, it’s not the surgery that you hope goes great,” Rivers said. “That’s something that has become somewhat of a normal procedure. It’s the rehab. Are you going to put in the time and effort and commit to pushing yourself? That’s who gets back the quickest. I’m going to do what it takes.”

Since undergoing the operation on January 23, just three days after the Bolts’ season ended in New England, Rivers has regularly spent five days a week working with the team’s athletic training staff at Chargers Park. He also has some small rehab equipment at home, which he finds himself regularly using.

“I’m trying not to overdo it because I don’t want to leave myself too sore, but I’m really rolling,” Rivers said. “At home I’ve got plenty of things to do balance wise that I can work on if I’ve got a couple minutes during the day. There are all kinds of things I can do when I’m away from (Chargers Park), so it’s going really well.”

Roughly a week after surgery, Rivers had replaced crutches with a heavy brace on his right knee. He’s had to discard his golf game this spring, but he’s very pleased with how his body has responded in the first three weeks.

“I’m moving around well, walking well and I’m able to do a lot of exercises,” Rivers said. “I certainly at least feel good about where I am at this point. I feel real good about where I’m going to be when I need to be healthy, the start of training camp. I definitely feel I’ll be there.”

According to Rivers, the hardest and most painful part in the early stage of his recovery has been getting all of the flexion back in his knee.

“I’ve pretty much got all of that back at three weeks, which from what I understand is pretty quick,” Rivers said. “That’s just most of the pain really, getting that knee to bend. I think now the key thing is strengthening all the muscles around it. I never realized how much the knee affects the quad and the calf and the hip. You’ve got to really get those muscles back rolling, and that’s what takes a lot of time.”

Rivers’ initial goal was to be back on the football field by the time the Chargers opening camp in late July. He’s now cautiously optimistic that he may be able to participate in some drills before then.

“I don’t want to say I’m going to be able to do things (on the field) during the spring and early summer, and you have to be smart about it, but I would hope to be able to do some football-related stuff at some point this offseason,” Rivers said. “To what degree, I don’t know.”

When the season ended, Rivers considered putting off the surgery a couple weeks as his wife was due to deliver their fourth child at any time. After being advised that the baby was still a couple weeks away, Rivers went through with the surgery and was back on his feet when the newborn arrived. The Rivers’ first son was born late Monday evening.

“I was hoping my wife wouldn’t be out of commission at the same time I wasn't able to walk,” Rivers said. “I’m moving around well now, so we’re really happy with the way it worked out.”

Have an opinion on this story? Share it on the team's official message boards.

Visit the forums

Find out what others are saying about the Chargers. Visit Daily Clips.

Already registered? Login here.