Hi,
As Vickster said I've got direct experience....
Snapped ACL skiing in Feb '16. Minimal meniscus damage. Age 60.
Did not want to bugger up plans for the summer, so after consulting surgeon privately to get rapid diagnosis and advice I decided to delay op till October '16.
In the meantime I rehabbed and prehabbed under the guidance of a sports physio and cycled around Provence and up Ventoux sans-ACL in September '16.
Op in October '16 and back cycling with my CTC group in April '17
By sods law I got an unrelated DVT in the non operated leg just after starting back, that laid me up for a while then in September '17 I got a chest infection that morphed into something nasty and I only began to feel semi human but grossly unfit again in April/May '18.
So my time line is unusual, but apart from a little early morning stiffness (quiet at the back please!) the ACL knee is fine and I am back cycling hard but limited by lost general fitness.
D2 snapped her's in Feb '17, operated on within a month. Had a few minor setbacks with internal scar tissue, but she is back in the gym deep squatting 65kg and her PT says he cannot tell which is her damaged knee.
So, have confidence you will get back - but is does take time, and during that time of rehab the one key mantra is "protect the graft" do not do the wrong exercises or even too much of the right exercises.
I don't know how much you know about ACL surgery and rehab, so pardon me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs...
The ACL is a taut, non stretchy ligament in the knee that controls twisting motions. The surgeon takes the stretchy tendon from one of the 3 hamstring muscles, twists it together as an ACL lookalike and fixes it with screws into the middle of the knee joint - there are loads of YouTube videos showing the op, and it is pretty brutal surgery - the whole knee will be very sore for quite some time post op simply because of the surgery.
Key point to note, is that you currently do not have an ACL you have a piece of dead tendon screwed across the middle of your knee. Over a period of months, the body will first vascularise (provide a blood supply to) the dead tendon, it will then recognise it is stretchy tendon tissue where there should be non stretchy ligament tissue and will lay down collagen to convert tendon to ligament. Clever things bodies! So, over a period of months, the new ACL will first get weaker and weaker and then, as it converts, stronger and stronger. 12 weeks post of is identified by many sources as the weakest point for the graft - some sources vary on that, saying 5-6 weeks.
Hence the mantra I mentioned above "protect the graft" Stretching the graft before conversion is complete can lengthen it permanently and leave you with a floppy joint.
Early stage rehab is about regaining mobility of the post op joint, building up muscle to support the knee while it heals and as far as possible preventing complete atrophy of other muscles.
Also in early stage and continuing, a focus will be on proprioception - that uncanny thing that allows you to close your eyes and touch the end of your nose ie the body knowing where its various bits are. The ACL is a key part of the proprioception circuit for your lower leg and the body has to fine workarounds to give you back that original ability.
Later stages will look at regaining previous strength - in particular building the remining 2 hamstring muscles to do the work of the one that no longer had a tendon.
So what do I advise?
1. Do what your surgeon tells you.
2. Find a good sports physio with ACL experience and who you feel you can work with and trust. Do what they say you should - no more and no less.
3. Hire a game ready machine. A combination Compression and Cryotherapy device and works on both pain relief (cryotherapy) and swelling (compression)
It is magic. Used by all top sports people, coaches and physios.
http://www.gameready.co.uk/How_it_works.html
4. Hire a compex machine - your physio may have one - this is an electro stimulation device that allows you to exercise muscle around the knee without using the knee joint and risking the graft. Hurts like hell as it is putting more work through the muscles than you could in the gym!
5. Watch this video:
http://www.physiorehab.com/you-tube-videos/acl-reconstruction-rehab-program-essentials-seminar
and if you are as impressed as I was, buy his ACL rehab program.
http://www.physiorehab.com/rehab-programs-acl-knee-surgery-rehab
Your sports physio, should be happy for you to work with you on this, providing checkups on progress and giving the OK to move on to the various stages.
I found it in invaluable.
6. Accept the rehab is a long slow and often frustrating process - unlike training you are not aiming to push the limits, you are working well within capacities to aid recovery. Training to regain fitness will come later, but if you follow a good protocol the progress through rehab will be speedy and have its own rewards as difficult exercise become easier.
Items 2-5 are not cheap but together cost less than a new bike.
Good luck and if you want 121 advice drop me a PM.