Torn ACL tears up Tiger Woods' 2008 season

NBC Nightly News—June 18, 2008   

The ACL injury that has sidelined Tiger Woods for the rest of the 2008 season is, while common, a more serious injury than the golfer let on in his public acknowledgment of it on June 18.

Spectators at Torrey Pines noticed a pronouned limp and grimace as Woods played in the U.S. Open despite his injury. Woods later admitted on his website to having a ruptured ACL as well as two stress fractures of the tibia, noting that he would be having reconstructive surgery to repair the damage.

"ACLs are not degenerative injuries....They're high-load twisting, hyper-extension injuries." said Dr. David W. Altchek from Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "He was playing on an unstable knee for maybe a year, maybe longer. The reason we don't let some athletes play without their ACL is for fear of cartilage damage."

An estimated 10 million Americans suffer from sports-related injuries every year, but when there are multiple injuries or surgeries involved, the risks of lasting effects on performance increase.

"Multiple surgeries are not good for the environment of the knee," Altchek said. "This is a serious injury."

Woods has stated that he expects to sit out the rest of the season and resume play once his reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation are complete.

View the full story on NBC News.