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<p>And just like that, Dustin Fowler&#8217;s season came to a crashing halt.</p><p>The New York Yankees outfielder was tracking down a foul ball during the bottom of the first inning in Thursday&#8217;s game against the Chicago White Sox when he crashed into the wall in foul territory. Fowler recovered from the collision only to attempt to stand up and walk it off, but once he put pressure on his right leg, the 22-year-old collapsed.</p><p>Fowler, who was making his Major League debut, would leave the game with an open rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee and was scheduled to have surgery at Rush University Medical Center Thursday night. The injury ended the Georgia native&#8217;s season.</p><p>Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after the game, via Twitter, that Fowler&#8217;s leg struck an electrical box during the collision.</p><p>According to SportsMD.com, &#8220;usually, a return to athletic activities is delayed until 4-6 months after surgery based on leg strength and range of motion.&#8221;</p><p>When Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Garrett Richards suffered a similar injury to his left knee at the end of his 2014 campaign, he was given a recovery timetable of six to nine months. Richard tore the patellar tendon in his left knee on Aug. 20, 2014 and was able to make his first start of the 2015 season on April 19, just 12 days into the season.</p><p>While performance after the injury seems to be the biggest question mark, Richards had one of the best seasons of his career in 2015. The right-hander made a career-high 32 starts and registered 15 wins and 176 strikeouts. Both are also career-best marks.</p><p>According to ESPN injury analyst Stephania Bell, one of the more-critical portions in the recovery is the first days after the surgery.</p><p>In <a href="http://www.espn.com/blog/stephania-bell/post/_/id/3320/jimmy-grahams-road-to-recovery" target="_blank" title="ESPN article">a 2015 piece written</a> about Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham&#8217;s recovery from the same injury, Bell notes how athletes must &#8220;keep the knee temporarily immobilized in a straight-leg position&#8221; which will help protect the injury early on.</p><p>&#8220;Several variables likely contribute to the challenge of bouncing back from this particular injury,&#8221; Bell writes. &#8220;First, the tendon has to be able to withstand significant load to function properly.</p><p>&#8220;In order for the tendon to handle such loads after surgery, the repair has to be given adequate time to heal.&#8221;</p><p>Another key aspect to the recovery process is for the athletes not to do too much too quickly. The strengthening of the muscle must be measured, not rushed.</p><p>Former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz said he rushed his recovery processes after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee in 2014. He then had calf issues throughout the following season on that same leg.</p><p>&#8220;The reason I got the calf (injury originally) was from overcompensation from using the left leg for 10 months in a row. Things like that happen,&#8221; Cruz said, via the Star-Ledger. &#8220;So I wanted to get this one stronger so I don&#8217;t have to rely on one leg so much. I think I did that.&#8221;</p><p>After watching video of the injury Thursday night, SirusXM sports medical analyst David J. Chao sent out a pair of tweets regarding his thoughts on the injury.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"></p><p dir="ltr">Now reported as open rupture of patella tendon.</p><p>Emergency surgery and season over.</p><p>Tough but possible to be ready for start 2018. <a href="https://t.co/H9sa6wHIFJ">https://t.co/H9sa6wHIFJ</a>&#8212; David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProFootballDoc/status/880648394297020416">June 30, 2017</a></blockquote><script charset="utf-8" type="mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-text/javascript" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async=""></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"></p><p dir="ltr">Open rupture means immediate surgery to avoid infection. Tough rehab. Tight timeline for spring training. Too bad. <a href="https://t.co/1YxX6E9v3R">https://t.co/1YxX6E9v3R</a>&#8212; David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProFootballDoc/status/880651656274354177">June 30, 2017</a></blockquote><script charset="utf-8" type="mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-text/javascript" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async=""></script></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' Dustin Fowler, left, is out at the plate by the tag of Buffalo catcher Luke Maile at PNC Field in Moosic on Sunday afternoon.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL041717RailRiders_1CMYK20176301344762-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' Dustin Fowler, left, is out at the plate by the tag of Buffalo catcher Luke Maile at PNC Field in Moosic on Sunday afternoon.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Former SWB RailRiders OF Dustin Fowler’s season cut short after rupturing patellar tendon