Sorry to add to the gloom and doom, but I had to have an ACL reconstruction and most of my meniscus trimmed out in 2005, and I will never, ever be the same. The reconstructed ACL is supposed to be strong, but the missing meniscus means much less cushioning for the knee joint. Pain is frequently a day-to-day reality for me. Not unbearable pain, and it's much better than my knee collapsing on me as it used to do before surgery, but it's not now nor will ever be a "normal" knee.
My knee is strong for my, say, moderately active lifestyle (we have a farm with horses to ride and care for, and I compete in dog sports) but I'm no conditioned athlete.
Dai will undoubtedly have the best docs in the world behind him, and he's an athlete and I'm not (he's in much better overall health and physical shape, in other words), but I haven't wanted to risk my knee and haven't been back on skates since the surgery.
Every injury is different and I shouldn't play armchair orthopaedist, I just hope Dai's prognosis is better than that, but these are very, very serious injuries, as everyone knows.
Which leg is it, left or right (that is, will he be landing on it or taking off on it)? I'd rather jump off than land on my bad knee, with the kind of torque landing legs have to receive (rather than generate against a solid surface).