Sturm had already battled back from numerous injuries over the past two seasons, including a torn ACL in his left knee last season and one in his right knee while with the Sharks earlier in his career. How much worse could it get, right? Well, unfortunately for Sturm and the Bruins, much worse.
The Bruins confirmed Sunday that the German winger suffered a torn ACL and a tear in his MCL in his right knee just 21 seconds into Game 1 on Saturday and that his season is over. On Monday, a somber and distraught Sturm met the media.
"This one hit me the most," Sturm said of his most recent setback. "It was just unexpected. It’s too fast after I came back. It’s playoffs, too. You always want to play in the playoffs. That’s why you play. That could be why. Rehab is a lot of work. I don’t know. Right now I’m just a little rattled. But I will come back, I know. I’ve just got to be patient. I’ve got my family to support me. It will be hard, definitely, but I know what to expect now. I just want to try to do the best I can."
Sturm pointed out that it was the same injury that Tom Brady suffered in 2008, but unlike Brady, who didn’t wait for the MCL to heal, Sturm will wait three or four weeks to have any surgery on the ACL while the MCL heals. Brady reportedly suffered setbacks for not waiting.
Sturm eventually will have the surgery done by Dr. Peter Asnis and Dr. Tom Gill who took care of his left ACL surgery last year.
"Brady decided to go to another doctor, and he did it too early because the MCL wasn’t healed," said Sturm. "So you’ve got to get the MCL healed first and then do the surgery. It could be a while."
As of this moment, "a while" could be December, and the thought of another long rehab process has left the usually happy Sturm with nothing to say.
"I’m still speechless today," said Sturm. "I just never thought there was going to be another injury like this. It’s a tough one. But I always come back from big injuries, and I’m going to do it again. But it’s definitely tough."
For now, just as he did when he battled back from previous injuries, he will try to stay upbeat, and that means being around the team and the game as much as possible.
"I said it before, last year they kept my spirits up through rehab," Sturm said. "I was always around and I was always with the guys and that’s what makes me happy. Everyone makes you happy if you’re hurt. You know your teammates are behind you and beside you and you can laugh. Like today, it’s not many times I laugh at home, but as soon as you hit the rink, it makes you happy. It’s definitely big."
