Published: August 08, 2008 01:33 am            

FSU CB Vujaklya hopes to return

FAIRMONT — It’s been nearly nine months since Matt Vujaklya’s left knee blew completely out on the first play from scrimmage in Fairmont State’s 2007 season-ending 17-0 victory over Concord University at Duvall-Rosier Field.

In 10 days Vujaklya, a 6-2, 215-pound senior cornerback from East Liverpool, Ohio, will find out his fate for this fall. Like a child 10 days before Christmas, Vujaklya is filled with anticipation and high hopes.

“Today was the first day I was allowed to make cuts with my brace on and honest to God I felt so good today that I was ready to run out there on the field and get in on practice,” said Vujaklya Thursday afternoon following FSU’s first on-field workout session of the fall. “I really felt great. It was a tremendous confidence boost for me.

“When you have an injury like this you have to work hard and rehab the injury, but you also have to recover mentally. That’s such a big part of the recovery process. Personally I feel like I’m ready. I know I have other options and we’ve talked about those, but right now I don’t want to get in that because I want to be back on the field for our first game Aug. 28. I’m that confident in myself that I can be ready by then.”

Vujaklya is pretty sure of what he wants, but FSU head coach Mike Lopez is being a bit more cautious.

“We have options with him,” said Lopez. “As bad as I know he wants to play when you’re nine months post-op on a completely blown knee it’s very difficult. There’s no question he’s a hard worker. He always has been and he’s certainly worked hard to get himself back to the point he’s at now, but we won’t know anything for certain until the 18th of this month.

“If he’s able to come back and be near 90 percent or better than we need to work towards that, but if he’s only 70 percent and stuck around that range then we need to explore some of our options with him because that wouldn’t be good for him or us. I don’t want to see a kid like him waste a year.”

On the positive side for Vujaklya, who recorded 48 tackles, broke up seven passes and intercepted a pair of balls in 2007, his Dec. 4 surgery was performed by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center head orthopedic surgeon Freddie Fu. Dr. Fu is a big proponent of a relatively new technique for repairing ACL tears called double bundle.

Surgeons in Japan have been using the technique for about eight years, while Dr. Fu has been performing them in the United States for a couple of years. The idea behind it is that the knee has two bundles of fibers connecting the thighbone to the shinbone. Traditional ACL repair only mends one of those bundles. Dr. Fu uses a patient’s or donor tissue to replace both bundles restoring knee rotation and better motion for many years to come. In essence, the new technique better replicates the original ligament much more accurately. Also, many doctors beginning to use the new technique are finding that several patients are recovering fully in a less amount of time.

“Dr. Fu is one of the best in the country,” said Vujaklya. “That gives me a lot of hope.

“I’ve worked hard. I’ve always considered myself a hard worker, but dealing with this injury has made me work even harder. That’s a good thing, though. Hard work makes you a better person, a better football player and a better student in the classroom. It certainly doesn’t hurt you.

“Last year when (FSU offensive tackle) Kyle Knight got hurt during the off-season and then eventually couldn’t come back and play for us last fall I kept telling him to hang in there and keep his head up. Now he’s back and the roles are reversed a little bit and all spring and summer he’s been telling me that. I just can’t wait to get back out there.”

On Aug. 18 Vujaklya will find out for sure if this fall will be his last in a Falcon uniform or if he’ll have to wait a bit longer.

        

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