Ryan Stonehouse injury update: physical therapist details timeline of knee rehab process for Titans punter

Stonehouse underwent a surgical procedure on his plant leg on December 15, 2023. Paul Kuharsky of paulkuharsky.com reported that the injuries Stonehouse sustained included a torn ACL, torn MCL and a broken bone in his left leg.

To gain more insight on what Stonehouse's road to recovery looks like, A to Z Sports reached out to DPT Dylan Green with the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee for a Titans DocTalk segment. 

"...Overall, the biggest thing that's going to take the longest is the ACL," says Green. "Usually, those recoveries are usually nine months, because a lot of research coming out now says nine months at minimum for you to feel completely back to normal, back to playing a sport again. Now, with that being said, for him pulling full strength, they usually will feel strong and back to normal within five to six months."

It's important to note that an injury to the plant leg is much more problematic than one to the kicking leg. The power and balance, which are critical to Sonehouse's game, required to drive the football down the field all derives from the plant leg. 

"...For these guys, it's almost like riding a bicycle," Green continues. They'll kind of ease back into it. Then they will start working on, 'Hey, how far do we need to punt today? Can we work on direction? Can we work on location? Can we work on height?' As far as full strength these guys are about five to six months out feeling like full strength is back into the leg. And then we start working on all this return to sport stuff."

Green noted that Stonehouse is an elite athlete, and his body could heal at a faster rate than normal. However the nine-month mark from Stonehouse's surgery date falls on September 15. Though schedules have yet to be released, that will likely fall on the Sunday of Week 2.

It's unfair to expect Stonehouse to return to action as soon as the season begins. While it would be great to see him back on the field as soon as possible, a plausible outcome would be Stonehouse opening the 2024 campaign on the Physically Unable to Perform list and making his return after missing the first four games of the year, per NFL policy for players who open the season on PUP.

While Stonehouse's return date remains a question, there is no argument that the Titans are a better team with him on the field. Even if his road to recovery takes longer than expected, it's best not to risk re-injury for a player with the record-breaking potential that Stonehouse possesses.