Rienk Mast to officially red-shirt this season

[Da Coach]

Bradley has determined that Rienk Mast will officially red-shirt this season, and not attempt a comeback or play this season.

Rienk sustained an ACL tear in late May while playing for his pro league team in The Netherlands, Donar Groningen. He underwent surgery in the first week of June, and rehabbed over the summer in his home country. He continued his rehab after arriving in Peoria, and the initial plan was to keep working to see if he might be able to return to the court in late December or early January.
Initially, Bradley was planning on waiting to decide on a red-shirt year, but today the decision was made not to push to try to return this season.

Edit: sorry I didn't notice that this info was posted a few minutes before I posted.

[Big Mike]

It is the right move but still sad. Really held out hope for Mast to play this season.

[Da Coach]

I have merged the 2 threads that were both about this same topic.

I have not heard anything to suggest that there is any new problem or complication with Rienk's recovery. Every athlete who has ACL reconstruction surgery recovers at a different pace, and the surgery and recovery differ based on the severity of the ligament injury, they type of surgery, or if there is any other damage such as fractured bone. Some simple ACL repairs are now done using arthroscopic surgery and recovery is faster. But a lot of athletic injuries require an open surgical procedure because of severity. And sometimes, when a simple repair is not possible, a reconstruction of the ACL (usually using a graft from another part of the body) is needed.

Recovery these days can be as fast as 6 months, but most high-level athletes average a little longer (8-10 months) before they can return to playing and be at close to 100% with minimal risk of reinjury.
Here is an overview of recovery time for an athlete with ACL surgery-
https://www.verywellhealth.com/acl-t...t-take-2549221

So I think most fans would agree that if Rienk can't be close to 100% and contribute significantly this season, it is better to redshirt and return healthy next year.

I can recall a couple Bradley players who had torn ACL's in the past. Sam Singh (2004-2010) and Will Egolf (2007-2013) each had ACL tears that needed to be redone because they did not heal fully. They each ended up at Bradley for 6 years.
Eric Roberson (1996-2000) suffered an ACL tear prior to coming to Bradley, but recovered and had a nice career here.

[Mikovio]

Danny Adams tore his ACL too before coming here. Ended up on the MVC All Bench team.

[Mikovio]

Also there's nothing "official" about a decision to redshirt. You sit and if you don't enter any games, you've redshirted. If Bradley is rolling in Feb and he wants to be a part of that he can play if he feels he's good to go and that's more useful than a 5th year down the road.

I still think they should play it by ear but if they think the risk is too big or he wants to maximize his US college eligibility then it makes sense.

[houstonbrave]

Redshirting sounds like the best for the young man-let it heal and fully rehabbed. Remember he is a freshman and has not practiced at full speed with the team. He has good experience from his play in the Netherlands but his ability to come back from an ACL tear and step in to contribute while BU is in the middle of the Valley season is really questionable. Reflect on Ari coming in last year from what I understand is a less significant injury. I believe he will have a great career we will just have to wait.