By Sheila Dwyer, Knee1 StaffNASCAR driver Mike Skinner’s knee injury is not as serious as first believed, according to his doctors. He received treatment for an ankle injury and is expected to be back on the circuit within the next month.
Skinner, 44, was driving in the Tropicana 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at the Chicagoland Speedway on July 15th when he sustained his injuries. On lap 23, he slammed into a retaining wall in Turn 2 after he cut a right-front tire.
Doctors initially believed Skinner had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the accident, in addition to fracturing his left ankle. Skinner underwent surgery to repair his left ankle on July 18th.
While doctors are relieved that Skinner did not tear his ACL, they are going to keep a watchful eye on his knee.
“Mike aggravated an old, chronic ACL injury from 1998,” Dr. Craig M. Hankins told Nascar.com. “The left knee suffered a medial cruciate ligament (MCL) strain, which will heal with the ankle. Mike will have a knee brace to assist in the healing of the MCL but there are no plans for any surgery for his ACL. However, that may need to be addressed later.”
Skinner will rest and heal his injuries for at least the next two weeks. Doctors expect that he will recover quickly.
“I’m pretty sore right now but everything went great today,” Skinner told NASCAR.com regarding his surgery. “It’s going to be difficult for me to get out of the Lowe’s Chevy but I’m going to do what the doctor told me and rest up this weekend. But you can only hold me down so long—I’m already ready to climb back in the Lowe’s Chevy and am going to do my best to be back soon.”
Driver-for-hire Robby Gordon will take over for Skinner at the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend.
Reference:
www.nascar.com
Photo courtesy of www.nascar.com.
