"THE DOC IS IN"

Hello fantasy footballers it's me again "THE FANTASY TYPHOON" here to bring you some more league dominating information. This time we will focus on injured players. Since I am not a doctor we here at Fantasy Football 1 on 1 have a special agreement with a awesome doctor named, David Geier. (CLICK HERE). While he is deeply focused on his medical endeavors he has agreed to share his medical expertise with us sparingly with hopes to grow into weekly podcasts, Google+ hangouts, and in depth articles in the future. We will not focus on guys like Danrio Alexander, Dennis Pitta, or Jeremy Maclin because we know they will not see the field in 2013. We will spotlight them later down the road. Here are some injured guys who are expected to play at some point and time this year. We will give you the doc's view as well as the Fantasy Football 1 on 1 view. Let's go.

Rob Gronkowski

If Gronkowski did have surgery to treat a herniated disc in his lumbar spine (no official reports have said definitely what his surgery was), then I think it is unlikely he would be playing Week 1. Those surgeries often take 6-8 weeks before athletes can jog and lift weights as the surgeons try to limit stress on the spine. The athletes undergo aggressive physical therapy to improve their strength, range of motion, and functional ability. At some point, they are allowed to return to sports, but that is a process. Running, then cutting and jumping, then contact in practice. If all goes well, then athletes can play in games. That return to play process can take 3-4 weeks or longer depending on how the player feels and performs.

 Also, he has had a herniated disc surgery while in college, so there is concern about the long-term health of his back. For fans and fantasy players, that concern might not be important now, but it could be a problem in the next few years.

We here at Fantasy Football 1 on 1 love to take player discounts each and every year. We dominated leagues last year by taking discounts on Adrian Peterson, Trent Richardson, Dez Bryant (not injury related). Gronk's situation seems to be a little more complex and we are not suggesting that you take the Gronk discount this year and go another route. (For TE alternatives CLICK HERE or Itunes #3) While any player can get hurt at any time and no one can come close to predicting it, but it's a difference when you know a player is hurt before you add them to your roster. If you do decide to take the Gronk discount try and draft him after you have solidified your core. That would be somewhere in/after the 5th round. Also according to doc you should know when he is about ready to return once you start hearing reports that he is running off on the other field.

Percy Harvin:

His return will really depend on what type of procedure the surgeon had to perform. The labrum is a cartilage bumper along the acetabulum, or hip socket. If the labrum tears in way where it is just frayed or beaten up, the surgeon can often smooth the labrum out arthroscopically with a shaver. The athlete can bear weight alomst immediately and return to sports within 6-8 weeks. If the labrun detached from the socket, then the surgeon performs a labral repair. More specifically, he reattaches the labrum to the socket with sutures and anchors. That repair requires a much longer recovery time. The surgeon limits an athlete's weight for several weeks to allow the repair to start to heal. Then he can progress motion, strength, and walking. When the repair has felt to have healed sufficiently, the athlete can start jogging and then more functional sports movements. That return to sports process often takes 4-6 months.

This is an interesting discount right here guys. We here at Fantasy Football 1 on 1 suggest that you could take a flyer on him in drafts longer than 15 rounds or more or in 15 rounds or less you could let someone else draft him and wait until they face a bye week decision and drop him for need of roster space. Let them carry the injured and then you pounce when he gets closer to return.

Arian Foster:

Assuming the calf strain is truly mild, his return should be quick. The problem with calf strains generally is two-fold. One, they can be very painful, especially in a running athlete who needs explosive strength. Second, it can be hard to know when it is safe to return to play. If he comes back too fast, he could injure the calf again while it hasn't fully healed.

We here at Fantasy Football 1 on 1 suggest that you absolutely take full advantage of this discount. We participated in a real draft today and he went off of the board as the 5th pick. Take that discount and laugh. For you nervous players make sure you pick up Ben Tate late if you are feeling a bit queezy.

Ahmad Bradshaw:

It is difficult to know specifically what surgery Bradshaw had on his foot. Reports in February noted that he had a second surgery to put a larger screw in the bone. Most likely that information suggests that he had a fracture of the fifth metatarsal, which is the long bone on the outside of the foot below the little toe. That bone is prone to not healing, so orthopedic surgeons often fix those fractures surgically. If they don't heal, surgery to place a larger screw and bone graft can be necessary. Return depends on when that fracture has completely healed. When it has, the surgeon will allow the athlete to walk without a boot before progressing to jogging and then playing. Typically it takes 4-6 weeks from the time an athlete comes out of the boot before he can return to sports.



We here at Fantasy Football 1 on 1 suggest that you cash in on the Ahmad Bradshaw discount this year. We are taking him in our drafts. We even took him in a 15 rd mock draft before he had a team in rd 13. HINT: Bradshaw is a TYPHOON'S TOP 20 player for 2013.

We hope these tips helped you see the payers injury with a little more clarity. Be on the lookout for more of these "THE DOC IS IN" segments in the near future. If you have a player that you are concerned with please email me at thefantasytyphoon@hotmail.com. 

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