Colts Freeney Has 2 Ankle Ligament Tears

"He [Dwight Freeney] is under the care of our athletic training staff,'' Colts spokesman Craig Kelley said. 'Nothing we have seen changes our diagnosis that he is questionable. He has a third-degree, low basketball sprain.'"

If what we see is correct - we would grade him (from afar) as doubtful.

Let's examine this. There is no such disorder as a 3rd degree low basketball sprain. Go ahead, Google it. We'll wait. They tend to happen a lot in basketball and thus the name.

So let's assume that Freeney has a third-degree, low ankle sprain. In order for it to be classified as such - Freeney must have two ligament tears. 3rd degree is used to define a complete rupture of both the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and the the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL).

That's right: A complete rupture of the ATFL and CFL, as evidenced by a talar tilt of (1) at least a 20° opening and (2) at least 10° greater than the uninjured side, is considered a third-degree ankle sprain.

Third-degree ankle sprains require an average of 12 to 16 weeks to heal completely. If this is a first-time injury, proper care, surgery and sufficient healing time before resuming activity should prevent permanent disability. Ligaments have a poor blood supply, and torn ligaments require as much healing time as fractures.

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Rubin A. Ankle ligament sprains. In: Sallis RE, Massimino F, eds. ACSM's Essentials of Sports Medicine. St Louis, Mo: Mosby Year-Book; 1997:450-2.

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