Lobo Expects Midseason Return From Knee Injuries

Rebecca Lobo refers to her first serious knee injury as practice. The second one made her a pro.

Lobo’s goal is to return to the New York Liberty by midseason, more than a year after the initial anterior cruciate ligament tear ended her 1999 season.

“My biggest accomplishment will be when I step on the floor of Madison Square Garden to play my first game,” said Lobo, who tore her ACL twice in six months. “I’m hoping by July 1, that’s my personal goal. It may be a bizarre reason, but it’s the anniversary of my first surgery.”

Rehabilitation is on track for the former Connecticut Huskies’ star, who has become one of the most well-known players in the WNBA.

A return July 1 at Orlando seems possible, and her first game at the Garden would be four days later against the expansion Portland Fire.

“Rebecca is progressing tremendously,” Liberty general manager Carol Blazejowski said. “She has a terrific work ethic and a hunger to be back with the Liberty.”

Last season ended for the 6-foot-4 forward in the first 40 seconds of the opener against Cleveland on June 10. After grabbing Kym Hampton’s miss, Lobo’s left knee buckled and she fell to the floor, clutching her leg in agony.

That started the six-month recovery process, which included a walk through the corridors of Beth Israel Hospital two hours after Dr. Norman Scott, the New York Knicks team physician, replaced her ACL with a cadaver’s.

Lobo went through vigorous rehab and was two months ahead of schedule -- until December 12.

She went down again during practice, 40 minutes into her first day back playing fullcourt basketball.

“It was a simple step-back move and my knee tore,” Lobo said. “So it wasn’t like I was coming down hard on a rebound or anything. I’d been playing halfcourt for a couple weeks against guys, getting banged around all under the supervision of my therapist. There had been no indication it would happen again.”

Dr. Susan Scott, the Liberty team physician, said two tears in six months is uncommon.

“She blew it just like Bernard King,” she said, referring to the former Knicks’ star. “I can’t give you any statistics, it’s that rare.”

Susan Scott says female athletes might be at a slightly higher risk for ACL injuries than men because of the wider angle of the hip to the knee joint, differences in muscle strength and the effect of hormones.

“But we don’t know for sure,” she said. “People like Rebecca are strong, they spend a lifetime training.”

So how did the player who led the Huskies to an undefeated season and the 1995 NCAA title keep her spirits up?

“That’s never really been an issue,” said Lobo, whose mother, RuthAnn, has survived breast cancer. “A torn ACL or two of them is, relatively speaking, in the larger scheme of things, not that bad a thing to have happen.

“I never had any depression or anything like that. You’re allowed maybe 24-to-48 hours to feel sorry for yourself, and then it’s time to move on.”

Lobo rises at 5:30 every morning and receives two hours of physical therapy before heading to the four-hour Liberty practices. She rides a bike on the sideline, learns the plays and cheers on Hampton, who postponed her retirement after successful offseason knee surgery.