Gabriel Landeskog, the captain of the Avalanche, missed the whole 2022–2023 season while recovering from knee surgery, know his latest injury update and timeline
For at least another year, fans won’t get to witness him play on the ice.
Landeskog is to undergo surgery to repair the cartilage in his right knee.
Colorado said on Tuesday that Landeskog is having surgery to repair the cartilage in his right knee. He is anticipated to sit out the whole 2023–24 NHL season. Dr Brian Cole will carry out the procedure at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Centre.
Gabriel Landeskog latest injury update today, return date from transplant of knee cartilage and timeline
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will undergo a cartilage transplant in his right knee on May 10. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Brian Cole at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The 30-year-old forward is expected to miss the entire 2023-24 season. pic.twitter.com/bM466EpL3G
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) May 9, 2023
The Avalanche will suffer a great loss if Landeskog is out for another year. Colorado had trouble filling in the gaps left by Landeskog and other injured forwards this season with secondary scoring, failing to do so. The Kraken defeated the Avs in the opening round of the 2023 playoffs.
When Colorado defeated Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, Landeskog was a member of the Avalanche and won the championship. In 738 games throughout the course of his career, all with the Avalanche, he has contributed 248 goals and 571 points.
What is a transplant of knee cartilage?
A relatively recent medical strategy used to help replace damaged cartilage in the area is a knee cartilage transplant. It occurs when healthy cartilage from another place is used to repair the injured area.
OrthoNebraska claims that as a graft may only be obtained from a tiny part of the same joint, knee cartilage transplants are only performed in locations where there is less damage. The incision will be smaller and recovery will be quicker and easier than with open surgery since they are often conducted with a tiny camera called an arthroscope.
Guard for the Bulls Lonzo Ball is recovering from the same treatment. Moreover, Landeskog said he spoke with Ball about the procedure.
How long does a knee cartilage transplant healing take?
Because it takes time to recover from a cartilage transplant procedure, the Avalanche have already ruled Landeskog out for the upcoming campaign. The transplanted cartilage may take up to two years to fully grow, according to OrthoTexas. An 85–90% success rate was found in recent studies performed 10–15 years following the operation.
It is anticipated that the transplanted cartilage will remain functional for the remainder of one’s life once it has fully healed. Marc Methot, a former NHL defender, said on Twitter that he underwent the same procedure on his left knee but was unable to fully recover from the procedure.
Timeline for Gabriel Landeskog’s injuries
Injuries to his knees have plagued Landeskog for the majority of the last three seasons. The Avalanche provided some clarification regarding the surgery that the Avs captain had undergone during the previous three years earlier in the season.
In the 2020 bubble, a skate sliced Landeskog’s right quad, which required surgery, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Then, in March 2022, he underwent right knee surgery in preparation for the playoffs so that he could perform at his peak. He participated in 51 regular-season games, which was a career low, but it was worthwhile when Landeskog won the Cup with the Avalanche at the end of the 2022 playoffs.
Landeskog underwent what Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar would describe as a “minor operation” in October of this year to address leg soreness. In the 2022–23 season, Landeskog was making progress towards a full recovery from that surgery, but he was falling short of what was required. A cartilage transplant is Landeskog’s next and most likely last option for treating his knee problems.