NFL Injury Recovery Timelines: How Long Common Football Injuries Keep Players Out

Oct 23, 2026 • an hour ago

Recovery times for common football injuries range from a few days for a mild hamstring strain to roughly a year for a torn ACL, Achilles or patellar tendon, and published studies of NFL players show that some major injuries end a meaningful share of careers. This reference collects the return-to-play figures reported in peer-reviewed studies of NFL and elite football players, explains how the league's concussion protocol works, and answers the most common question about knee injuries: whether a torn patellar tendon is worse than a torn ACL.

2026 season reference, as of October 2026. Updated each season at this address.

This page is general information drawn from published research. It is not medical advice.

Recovery timelines at a glance

The table lists typical treatment, the return-to-play window reported in studies, and the share of players who returned where a study measured it. Studies define "return" differently, often as playing in at least one regular-season NFL game, so the rates are not directly comparable across rows. Where studies disagree, both figures are shown.

Injury	Typical treatment	Typical return-to-play range	Return-to-play rate where studied
ACL tear	Surgical reconstruction	About 9 to 11 months; NFL head team physicians reported a mean of 9 months and none before 7 months (Arner and Bradley, 2024); NFL players who returned did so at an average of 10.8 months (Shah et al., 2010)	62% to 63% of NFL players (Shah et al., 2010; Eisenstein et al., 2016)
Patellar tendon rupture	Surgical repair	Usually season-ending; median 11.3 months for patellar and quadriceps tendon ruptures combined (Choudhry et al., 2025)	50% (Mai et al., 2016); 56.8% for patellar and quadriceps tendon ruptures combined (Choudhry et al., 2025); 19 of 24 when success meant playing one game (Boublik et al., 2011)
Achilles tendon rupture	Surgical repair	About 11 months: weighted mean 10.9 months (Butler et al., 2024); mean 339.8 days (Jack et al., 2017)	66.2% across 12 studies (Butler et al., 2024); 72.4% (Jack et al., 2017)
High ankle sprain (syndesmotic)	Usually nonoperative for stable injuries; surgical fixation for unstable ones	2 to 6 weeks for stable injuries (Knapik et al., 2018); mean 15.4 days on one NFL team (Osbahr et al., 2013); mean 80.5 days across all NFL cases 2009-2020, including severe ones (DeFroda et al., 2022)	89.7% (DeFroda et al., 2022)
Hamstring strain, mild to moderate	Rest and rehabilitation; some teams add platelet-rich plasma injections	Mean 2.4 weeks on the NFL injury report (Jenkins et al., 2024); grade 2 strains on one NFL team averaged 22.5 to 25.7 days (Bradley et al., 2020)	Not reported as a rate; recurrence 33% to 38% (Jenkins et al., 2024; Bodendorfer et al., 2023)
Hamstring, complete proximal tendon rupture	Surgical reattachment	Rehabilitation of at least 6 months (AAOS OrthoInfo); NFL players attempted to return the following season (Mansour et al., 2013)	9 of 10 NFL players (Mansour et al., 2013)
MCL sprain, grade 1	Nonoperative: rest, bracing, therapy	Average 10 days missed in Division I college football (Motamedi et al., 2017)	Not reported
MCL sprain, grade 2	Nonoperative: bracing, therapy	Average 35 days missed in Division I college football (Motamedi et al., 2017)	Not reported
MCL sprain, grade 3	Nonoperative or surgical, often depending on other knee damage	2-6 weeks	Not reported
Meniscus tear, partial meniscectomy	Arthroscopic trimming of the torn portion	About 3 to 6 weeks of healing (AAOS OrthoInfo); NFL players who had a partial lateral meniscectomy returned to regular-season games at an average of 8.5 months (Aune et al., 2014)	61% after partial lateral meniscectomy (Aune et al., 2014)
Meniscus tear, repair	Arthroscopic suturing of the tear	About 3 to 6 months of rehabilitation (AAOS OrthoInfo)	Not reported
Lisfranc (midfoot) injury	Surgical or nonoperative, depending on the injury	Median about 11 months: 11.1 months (McHale et al., 2016); 11.0 months (Abed et al., 2023)	81.8% (Abed et al., 2023) to 92.9% (McHale et al., 2016)
Turf toe	Nonoperative for most; surgery for high-grade injuries	Mean 36.7 days for players who returned the same season (Tran et al., 2019); high-grade injuries averaged about 76 days without surgery and about 221 days with surgery (Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics, 2020)	91% for high-grade injuries: 100% nonoperative, 80% surgical (Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics, 2020)
Pectoral (pectoralis major) tear	Nonoperative for strains and many partial tears; surgical repair mainly for complete tears (120 of 126 repairs in one NFL study)	Mean 30.4 days for strains, 117.4 days for partial tears, 297.5 days for complete tears (Bodendorfer et al., 2021)	85.3% overall; 78% after complete tears (Bodendorfer et al., 2021); 85.7% (Wise et al., 2021)
Sports hernia / core muscle injury	Rehabilitation first; surgery when nonoperative care fails	Mean 58.3 days after in-season surgery not in the final month; players who had offseason surgery returned for the next season's opener (Jack et al., 2017)	53 of 56 NFL players (Jack et al., 2017)
Concussion	NFL Concussion Protocol	No set timeframe; five-step return-to-participation process, then clearance by an Independent Neurological Consultant (NFL)	Not applicable

Typical timeline versus an individual case

A study average describes a group, not a player. The figures above come mostly from small case series that track players through public injury reports, and each one reflects that group's mix of positions, ages and injury severity. A player who is hurt in the offseason may miss no games at all despite a long rehabilitation, while the same injury in November can end a season. Concurrent damage, such as a meniscus tear alongside an ACL tear, usually lengthens recovery. Several studies also found that players drafted in earlier rounds or with longer careers were more likely to return, which suggests roster status and contract affect who gets back on the field, not only how the injury heals.

Roster rules shape the public timeline as well: a player placed on injured reserve during the season must sit out a minimum number of games (four, under the rule NFL.com reported in 2022) even if he heals sooner. A player who cannot pass a physical before release may receive an injury settlement rather than a full season of pay.

Is a patellar tendon tear worse than an ACL tear?

In NFL players, the published evidence says yes. The largest comparison, the NFL Orthopaedic Surgery Outcomes Database study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2016, followed 559 players after ten common operations. Patellar tendon repair had the lowest return-to-play rate of any procedure, at 50%, and the authors concluded it fared worst on return rate, career length, games played and performance. ACL reconstruction was also among the three procedures with the greatest effect on careers, but players who had it returned at higher rates: 63% in one case series and 62% in another.

A 2025 study of all identified patellar and quadriceps tendon ruptures in NFL history found a 56.8% return rate and a median of 11.3 months to return, with larger performance drops after patellar tendon tears than after quadriceps tendon tears. An older series of 24 ruptures reported that 19 led to at least one more game, but that study counted a single appearance as success. Taken together, a patellar tendon rupture usually costs about as much time as an ACL tear and leaves a lower chance of returning to the same level. National Football Post's medical column covers the comparison in more detail in Monday Morning MD: patella tendon rupture often worse than ACL.

Injury notes

ACL tear

Nearly all NFL head team physicians reconstruct the ACL with a bone-patellar tendon-bone graft from the same knee, according to a 2024 survey of all 32. They reported clearing players at a mean of 9 months, never before 7, and nearly all used functional testing before clearance. In one series, players who returned had played more games before surgery and had been drafted earlier than those who did not.

Patellar tendon rupture

The tendon connects the kneecap to the shinbone and is usually torn when the thigh muscle contracts as the knee is forced to bend. It requires surgery. The general orthopaedic guidance from AAOS is that complete recovery takes about six months and that many patients need a year to reach their goals; NFL data put return closer to a year.

Achilles tendon rupture

A 2024 systematic review of 12 studies covering 676 NFL players found about two in three returned, at roughly 11 months, and that careers lasted a weighted mean of 2.2 seasons afterward. A matched-control study found post-injury careers were about one season shorter than those of comparable uninjured players.

High ankle sprain

A syndesmotic sprain injures the ligaments that bind the two lower-leg bones above the ankle. On one NFL team, every case was treated without surgery and players missed about 15 days on average, more than twice the time lost to ordinary ankle sprains. League-wide data from 2009 to 2020 show a much longer average, 80.5 days, because they include unstable injuries that needed surgery.

Hamstring strain

Hamstring strains are graded by severity, and a 2024 study of NFL MRI scans found that a higher grade correlated with more days and games missed. Most NFL cases are moderate. Recurrence is the larger concern: about a third of players were hurt again, and returning within two weeks carried the highest re-injury risk.

MCL sprain

Grade 1 is a stretched but stable ligament, grade 2 a partial tear that leaves the knee loose, and grade 3 a complete tear. Low-grade injuries without other damage are usually treated without surgery. A study of NFL Combine participants found 13% had evidence of an MCL injury, and a prior isolated MCL tear had no measurable negative effect on early NFL careers.

Meniscus tear

Trimming away the torn portion of the meniscus heals in weeks, while a repair that stitches the tear takes months. In the NFL study of partial lateral meniscectomy, 61% of procedures were followed by a return to regular-season play, and running backs, receivers, linebackers and defensive backs were less likely to return than linemen and tight ends.

Lisfranc injury

A Lisfranc injury damages the joints or ligaments of the midfoot. Two NFL studies found that most players returned, at a median of about 11 months.

Turf toe

Turf toe is a sprain of the joint at the base of the big toe caused by forcing it upward. Most cases heal within the season. In high-grade cases, surgery meant no return the same season and a lower chance of regaining prior performance.

Pectoral tear

Pectoralis major tears are most common among defensive players and linebackers and usually happen in games. In a study of 258 NFL cases, players with partial tears returned at a mean of about four months, while complete tears, nearly all of the surgical cases, cost most of a year.

Sports hernia (core muscle injury)

A sports hernia, also called athletic pubalgia or core muscle injury, is an injury to the core musculature that causes groin and lower abdominal pain. Surgery is generally reserved for pain that has not improved with rehabilitation. Return rates after surgery are high, though one study found shorter careers than matched controls.

Concussion

The NFL does not set a timeline for concussions. A player removed under the game-day protocol who is diagnosed with a concussion moves through five phases: symptom-limited activity, aerobic exercise, football-specific exercise, club-based non-contact training drills, and full football activity. He advances only when he tolerates each phase without symptoms returning, and neurocognitive testing must be back to baseline before contact. After the team physician clears him, an Independent Neurological Consultant with no club affiliation, approved by the league and the NFL Players Association, must also clear him before he can practice with contact or play.