AJ Bear has postponed surgery on his knee in order to take advantage of a technique that utilises hamstring material to repair the damage.
The OWI downhill racer will see a specialist who uses the technique next week.
“I am booked in to see Dr Tim Musgrove on the 5th and will hopefully be able to get into surgery soon thereafter,” Bear said.
“He will be using the hamstring to reconstruct the ACL and the way he does the procedure, I will be able to be quite aggressive with the rehab straight away.”
“Once they are in there they will assess the cartilage damage and may need to go back in later to graft the cartilage.”
“Apparently waiting for the surgery will decrease the risk of anything going wrong and also increase the chance of success, as my knee became quite swollen from the flight home.”
“I am already doing a few sessions a day on my Compex EMS (Eletro Muscle Stimulation) device to stop muscle atrophy and to maintain strength.”
“Once off the crutches I will take the plates out of my arm.”
Bear’s absence for the rest of the season means that there will be just two Australians competing in World Cup speed events – his training partner Craig Branch and fellow Olympian Jenny Owens.