New England is not very happy that Tom Brady chose a family preferred doctor over the Pats choice of doctor. Now his surgery has gone horribly wrong and the corrections necessary could mean he miss all or part of the 2009 season.
Doctors are aggressively fighting an infection in Tom Brady's surgically repaired left knee. Brady recently acknowledged on his Web site that doctors went in "to clean and to test the wound" on Oct. 15 because of the infection. The New England Patriots quarterback has had two more similar procedures since then. The story was first reported by the Boston Herald and confirmed by ESPN's Wendi Nix. The Patriots, as an organization, are upset with the situation because they were clear that they wanted Brady's surgery done under the direction of doctors of their choosing in Boston, sources told ESPN. Instead, Brady opted to have the surgery in California by a doctor his family preferred, and now there are major problems. Brady was supposed to be back in New England by now, but a timeline for his return remains unclear. A person close to Brady told ESPN: "Tom is looking at months, not weeks, to fix this." According to the Herald, Brady is on a six-week course of intravenously administered antibiotics, and is still having follow-up exams at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, where the surgery took place. If the infection is not brought under control, the patellar tendon graft used to replace Brady's anterior cruciate ligament could become compromised, according to the Herald's report. If that happens, he will have to undergo another surgery on the ACL. That would reset the clock on his rehabilitation. Brady had surgery on Oct. 6 -- 29 days after he was injured in the Patriots' season opener -- on a hit by Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. Brady reportedly tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in the knee. New England Patriots spokesman Stacey James said Wednesday the team would let Brady comment on the status of his injury. espn
