Robby Fabbri Pulse Check

[TheGoldenGod]

Has there been any update on Robby Fabbri recently? We haven't heard much since his surgery.

I figured we would have at least got some word on how his recovery is going? This should be around the time he starts skating again, right?

It just seems weird to me that we've heard absolutely nothing from the Blues, the people who cover the team or Fabbri himself.

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[Brian39]

They shut him down for the season (including playoffs) right away and projected that he would be able to participate in camp for 18/19. I'd be surprised if he was skating yet and it's clear that they aren't interested in giving speculative updates. I'd guess that we won't hear any news until they know things for certain, which probably won't be until shortly before camp.

 

[Dbrownss]

I read somewhere he's home in Toronto rehabbing and everything is on track, but given the "cant talk to injured players" nothing specific has been written.

 

[BlueDream]

By the time training camp rolls around he will have had almost a full year of rehab.

He will be ready. There’s really no “ifs” about that.

 

[TruBlu]

He will be healed, but I won't expect him to be more than a 30 point player this season. He's not played hockey in two years. He's going to spend one third of the season just getting back to speed.

 

[TheGoldenGod]

I'd hope they really take their time evaluating this guy. Be overly cautious and don't rush him back. To me the guy we saw in the last preseason didn't trust that knee one bit. He looked fragile. That's common with ACL returnee's but every time he was on the ice, I was almost expecting to see another injury.

Idk who will still be with us come August but if he doesn't look comfortable, don't force it. We have guys like Sanford, Barashev, Kyrou, Thompson, Kostin, Foley all ready or willing to compete and fill in for a spot like Fabbri's.

If he does look good enough to play in camp that's great. He'll need to play eventually to get back into rhythm but it seemed forced last year and I'd like to seem them be a bit more cautious the 2nd time around.

 

[MissouriMook]

They shut him down for the season (including playoffs) right away and projected that he would be able to participate in camp for 18/19. I'd be surprised if he was skating yet and it's clear that they aren't interested in giving speculative updates. I'd guess that we won't hear any news until they know things for certain, which probably won't be until shortly before camp.

Actually, I'd be surprised if he isn't skating yet. His last surgery was almost eight months ago. He's probably been rehabbing it for five or six of those months. I would be shocked if they were still keeping him off the ice completely after five or six months. He's likely not going full out on cuts and stops, but you have to use as much time as you have available to get the muscle memory back if he's going to be ready for camp.
When the team says the expect him to be "ready for camp" I'm assuming that means that he is full go and isn't in a non-contact status. I would expect him to be doing hockey drills for at least two months prior to camp. You can argue they rushed him back the last time (I'm not sure they did) but this is not a 12-15 month recovery type of situation. The specialists believed seven months was enough the first time (maybe they were wrong) but the most conservative estimates expressed here from people who had the surgery themselves or went through it with a family member was 10 months.

 

[Brian39]

Actually, I'd be surprised if he isn't skating yet. His last surgery was almost eight months ago. He's probably been rehabbing it for five or six of those months. I would be shocked if they were still keeping him off the ice completely after five or six months. He's likely not going full out on cuts and stops, but you have to use as much time as you have available to get the muscle memory back if he's going to be ready for camp.
When the team says the expect him to be "ready for camp" I'm assuming that means that he is full go and isn't in a non-contact status. I would expect him to be doing hockey drills for at least two months prior to camp. You can argue they rushed him back the last time (I'm not sure they did) but this is not a 12-15 month recovery type of situation. The specialists believed seven months was enough the first time (maybe they were wrong) but the most conservative estimates expressed here from people who had the surgery themselves or went through it with a family member was 10 months.

He had surgery on November 7, 2017. That was 6 and a half months ago. Part of that surgery also required the surgeon to cut open his other knee and remove part of a tendon to use in repairing his left knee. This isn't incredibly uncommon, but delays the start of meaningful rehab since both legs are in major braces after that type of surgery. I'd be surprised if he has more than 5 months of rehab under his belt.

I hope they are being extra cautious and keeping him off the ice for at least a full 7 months from the date of the surgery.

 

[Ranksu]

Imagine If he comes with Lehterä speed.

 

[Shwabeal]

Imagine If he comes with Lehterä speed.

You would, for some inexplicable reason, find joy in that.

 

[ezcreepin]

He had surgery on November 7, 2017. That was 6 and a half months ago. Part of that surgery also required the surgeon to cut open his other knee and remove part of a tendon to use in repairing his left knee. This isn't incredibly uncommon, but delays the start of meaningful rehab since both legs are in major braces after that type of surgery. I'd be surprised if he has more than 5 months of rehab under his belt.

I hope they are being extra cautious and keeping him off the ice for at least a full 7 months from the date of the surgery.

Are you sure they cut open his other knee to use tendons to repair his hurt knee? From what I know about ACL surgeries, they usually take tendons from cadavers like an achilles tendon which has less mobility but is vastly stronger than any other tendon you'd put in the knee.

 

[pawnjohn]

Are you sure they cut open his other knee to use tendons to repair his hurt knee? From what I know about ACL surgeries, they usually take tendons from cadavers like an achilles tendon which has less mobility but is vastly stronger than any other tendon you'd put in the knee.

It depends on what kind of graft they used. There are two different types of grafts for an ACL repair: an Autograft - which is a graft from the patient themselves; either their patellar tendon (typical) or part of one of the hamstring tendons, and an Allograft - which is a tendon transfer from a cadaver (what you mentioned above)

Most repairs are done with an autograft because it does not involve introducing foreign tissue into the body and hoping that the body does not reject it. If his original surgery was an autrograft from the injured knee, then they probably decided to harvest the graft from his other knee for the second surgery.

 

[Brian39]

Are you sure they cut open his other knee to use tendons to repair his hurt knee? From what I know about ACL surgeries, they usually take tendons from cadavers like an achilles tendon which has less mobility but is vastly stronger than any other tendon you'd put in the knee.

JR reported it in a mailbag article on the Athletic. There was a picture floating around of Fabbri wearing a huge brace on his right knee in addition to the brace on his left knee right after the surgery. I don't know how much of the Athletic I'm allowed to quote here, but this is part of the relevant bit: "Dr. Bach did go into the right knee and harvest the patellar tendon, which was used to repair his damaged left knee. So essentially, Fabbri had both knees operated on to correct the retear in his left knee."

Readers: If Blues forward Robby Fabbri had surgery on his...

I'm by no means qualified enough to have an expert opinion on this, but it seems to me that his 2nd surgery was more substantial than your standard ACL repair.

 

[Dbrownss]

I remember reading that and forgot to ask. How does this impact his mobility, by having a tendon removed

 

[pawnjohn]

I remember reading that and forgot to ask. How does this impact his mobility, by having a tendon removed

In terms of the patellar tendon graft portion, there is no impact on his mobility. They don't completely remove the entire patellar tendon, they actually only use 1/3 of it. If you imagine cutting the tendon vertically leaving three pieces, they harvest the middle 1/3 and leave the outer pieces intact. The body then fills the middle portion with scar tissue and the tendon is able to function normally.

Complications can occur that could limit the ability to straighten the knee, but this is mitigated by the braces you could see him wearing. While locking the leg out into extension with the braces, this allows the knee to heal in the lengthened position, minimizing these risks. Other risks could lead to fracturing the patella or having a patella tendon tear, or trouble regaining quadriceps strength. These are all minimal with a patient with the resources (therapy and modalities), and motivation for someone in Fabbri's position.

 

[Dbrownss]

In terms of the patellar tendon graft portion, there is no impact on his mobility. They don't completely remove the entire patellar tendon, they actually only use 1/3 of it. If you imagine cutting the tendon vertically leaving three pieces, they harvest the middle 1/3 and leave the outer pieces intact. The body then fills the middle portion with scar tissue and the tendon is able to function normally.

Complications can occur that could limit the ability to straighten the knee, but this is mitigated by the braces you could see him wearing. While locking the leg out into extension with the braces, this allows the knee to heal in the lengthened position, minimizing these risks. Other risks could lead to fracturing the patella or having a patella tendon tear, or trouble regaining quadriceps strength. These are all minimal with a patient with the resources (therapy and modalities), and motivation for someone in Fabbri's position.

Thanks for the details. I was worried it could impact the donor knee

 

[Ranksu]

You would, for some inexplicable reason, find joy in that.

Yes

Imagine if Fabbri would also fall on ice like Lehterä, first contact to opponent and he's down. Then when he starts his shift he would be gas out after 10sec. Ofc before all that Army would extend this off-season Fabbri 5-years with 5mill.$ contract, but leaves out NTC so we can pay heavy price to get rid off Fabbri.

 

[67Blues]

Yes

Imagine if Fabbri would also fall on ice like Lehterä, first contact to opponent and he's down. Then when he starts his shift he would be gas out after 10sec. Ofc before all that Army would extend this off-season Fabbri 5-years with 5mill.$ contract, but leaves out NTC so we can pay heavy price to get rid off Fabbri.

Ransku's avatar should be Eeyore.

 

[Ranksu]

Ransku's avatar should be Eeyore.

That was funny and true. Looks like somebody has watched a Winnie-the-Pooh a lot.

 

[Chief Steele]

Apparently Fabbri was not in with the first group as he was listed with... Per Korac.. looks like he may not be skating today at all

 

[DatDude44]

Apparently Fabbri was not in with the first group as he was listed with... Per Korac.. looks like he may not be skating today at all

God no pleaaaaaassssseeeeee

 

[The Note]

He’s not skating with the second group either. Hopefully they’re just being extraordinarily cautious.

 

[Stealth JD]

maybe he's being traded to Ottawa!

 

[Chief Steele]

So it is confirmed that Fabbri did not skate with either group.. Yeo to update after 2nd group finishes up skating...

EDIT UPDATE:

Timmerman reporting that it is not knee related..

 

[Dbrownss]

Hopefully he's just sore after his first full speed game