Unrein: Something to Prove : Charger Recovering From Knee Surgery

Terry Unrein wasn’t tossing ballcarriers all over the field at last weekend’s Charger mini-camp, but the defensive end was enthusiastic.

And that’s a sign toward recovery.

“In the preseason last year, Terry was running around like a wild man,” said Ron Lynn, Charger defensive coordinator. “That was super. But he didn’t have that after the injury. We need to get him back with that enthusiasm.”

Just 3 1/2 months after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Unrein’s smiles are as wide as the wrap on his left knee.

“Now I’m able to do just about everything I did before,” said Unrein, who participated on a limited basis in the mini-camp, and is looking forward to being healthy when training camp begins this summer.

“Last year, I had to prove I was worthy of being here,” Unrein said. “Now, I have to prove I’m healthy.”

Unrein--the Chargers’ third-round draft choice out of Colorado State last season--injured his left knee in the Chargers’ season opener against Miami.

“At the time, I thought it might be a career-ending injury,” he said.

Unrein missed four games on the injured reserve list, but came back to play the final 11 games of the season.

“After coming off injured reserve, there was no pressure from the team to come back,” he said. “It was my decision. They said, ‘You know how the knee feels.’ I’m glad I played the season. I have the experience. I won’t be a rookie coming back.”

But Unrein didn’t play without pain.

“It was tough,” he said. “Every game, the knee would blow out and shift on me. I didn’t feel like I was using my quickness. I was hesitant. I was keeping people away from my knee instead of making things happen. It showed in my play.”

Dr. Gary Losse, Charger team physician, said Unrein was able to play without an anterior cruciate ligament, but the “knee was getting weaker” as the season went on.

After the season ended, Losse performed LAD (Ligament Augmentation Device) surgery on Unrein’s left knee. The surgery, performed on an out-patient basis, consists of having a synthetic ligament and a transplanted hamstring tendon sewn to replace the torn knee ligament. Losse said the recovery time is approximately six months.

“This is a way we can fix the knee in a better fashion,” said Losse, who has performed about 75 LAD surgeries in the past 18 months. “Technically it’s a lot more difficult, but the rehabilitation time is cut in half. The idea is to make the ligament strong right away. It used to be that a patient would just be getting out of a cast after three months.”

Unrein, who had knee surgery in college in 1983, is happy with the recovery time of this relatively new procedure.

On the day of the operation, Unrein already was moving. A little more than three months later, Unrein is training five days a week. Losse expects Unrein to be ready by training camp.

“Terry has been a great patient,” said Larry Roberts, Charger assistant trainer. “He’s one of the hardest working athletes I’ve worked with.”

Unrein has been stretching, running, strengthening his knee and improving his quickness by working with a martial arts instructor twice a week.

“That helps me work on using an opponent’s speed to my advantage,” said Unrein, who was a brown belt in judo when he was in high school.

Unrein is at the point where he says he is “just sitting around waiting to show everyone I’m ready to roll.”

In many ways, Unrein is in a similar situation to the one he faced last April, when he was waiting to be drafted.

“It was a very busy and very hectic time,” Unrein said. “I was hitting (pro football) camps, going to school and trying to get a 3.0 (grade-point average) and spending time with my baby.”

April 29--the date of last year’s draft--is a very special day for Unrein and his wife, Tina.

Instead of watching the draft on television, Unrein was outside playing with his son, Justin Andrew, who was celebrating his first birthday.

“I thought something might happen in the second round,” Unrein said. “I thought Miami might take me.”

The Dolphins didn’t.

“Then I thought I might be a free agent if I wasn’t drafted,” Unrein said.

Then former Charger Coach Don Coryell called.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” Unrein said. “I thought it was a friend of mine who could imitate Coryell.”

But it was no imitation. Unrein was a Charger.

“Last year I proved I could play in the league, but I still feel I have more to prove,” Unrein said.