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Bentley will try to come back this year
Told last fall his career was over, Browns center hopes to defy odds by returning to field
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
Despite being told he'd never play football again, Browns center and hometown favorite LeCharles Bentley said this week he'll try to make a comeback this season.
"I've been fortunate enough to have worked myself into a position to even think about playing football again," Bentley said in an exclusive interview with The Plain Dealer. "In spite of some major hurdles, I've been truly blessed all along the way to the point where I might possibly play this year."
Bentley, who will be in Berea for the first day of training camp July 27, revealed that he has undergone four surgeries over the past 11 months instead of the two that have been previously reported.
The first was to repair the torn left patella tendon suffered on the first day of contact drills last July. The next two were to clean out a life- and limb-threatening staph infection that penetrated the joint following the initial surgery. Those were each followed by a 30-day stay at the Cleveland Clinic. And the fourth operation, performed by Giants team physician Dr. Russell Warren in New York in November, was to clean out more staph and remove a portion of the tendon that was eaten away by the infection.
It was after that fourth surgery that Warren, one of the nation's most prominent orthopedic surgeons, told Bentley -- a two-time Pro Bowler with a lifelong dream to play for his hometown Browns -- that he'd never play football again.
"He told me to retire and he basically bet his license that I'd never play football again," said Bentley, who grew up in Cleveland and played at St. Ignatius and Ohio State.
Undaunted, Bentley, 27, rehabbed in Cleveland and then flew to Phoenix in January to focus entirely on his recovery.
"At that point, it was more just about living a normal life than playing football again," Bentley said. "I was trying to learn how to walk up the stairs again."
Bentley flew back and forth to New York to see Warren, who scheduled a fifth surgery for June 3. This time, Warren would most likely use a cadaver tendon to rebuild Bentley's ravaged patella.
But after an examination in May, Warren decided against the surgery.
"He told me my knee was sufficiently healed enough to live a normal life," said Bentley, who was the top-rated free agent when the Browns signed him in March of 2006. "He said, Go retire, go fishing, go live your life.' "
Football was not part of the discussion. But Warren got the wheels turning in Bentley's mind.
"If he's telling me I don't need surgery," Bentley said, "I started thinking, Maybe I can play again.' "
Bentley took his rehab to another level and began working out in Columbus, including some at Ohio State. "I started to feel like a football player again," he said.
When he told Warren about his progress in mid-June, the doctor deemed it remarkable. "He told me to call him in a couple of weeks and that if everything looked good, he'd pass me on my physical," Bentley said.
Bentley, who's rehabbing again in Phoenix, called Browns coach Romeo Crennel about a week ago and told him he'd be coming to camp and that he'd try to play this season.
"He said great and that he'd see me then," Bentley said.
Bentley said he'll most likely start camp by working out individually and then ease his way into position drills. "I don't anticipate any contact until at least three weeks into it," he said.
He said he'll take it one day at a time, but that his goal is to play in the opener Sept. 9 against Pittsburgh.
"I want to fulfill my promise to Browns fans to come back and help this team win," he said. "I don't want to let anybody down."
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/118327899035090.xml&coll=2
Told last fall his career was over, Browns center hopes to defy odds by returning to field
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
Despite being told he'd never play football again, Browns center and hometown favorite LeCharles Bentley said this week he'll try to make a comeback this season.
"I've been fortunate enough to have worked myself into a position to even think about playing football again," Bentley said in an exclusive interview with The Plain Dealer. "In spite of some major hurdles, I've been truly blessed all along the way to the point where I might possibly play this year."
Bentley, who will be in Berea for the first day of training camp July 27, revealed that he has undergone four surgeries over the past 11 months instead of the two that have been previously reported.
The first was to repair the torn left patella tendon suffered on the first day of contact drills last July. The next two were to clean out a life- and limb-threatening staph infection that penetrated the joint following the initial surgery. Those were each followed by a 30-day stay at the Cleveland Clinic. And the fourth operation, performed by Giants team physician Dr. Russell Warren in New York in November, was to clean out more staph and remove a portion of the tendon that was eaten away by the infection.
It was after that fourth surgery that Warren, one of the nation's most prominent orthopedic surgeons, told Bentley -- a two-time Pro Bowler with a lifelong dream to play for his hometown Browns -- that he'd never play football again.
"He told me to retire and he basically bet his license that I'd never play football again," said Bentley, who grew up in Cleveland and played at St. Ignatius and Ohio State.
Undaunted, Bentley, 27, rehabbed in Cleveland and then flew to Phoenix in January to focus entirely on his recovery.
"At that point, it was more just about living a normal life than playing football again," Bentley said. "I was trying to learn how to walk up the stairs again."
Bentley flew back and forth to New York to see Warren, who scheduled a fifth surgery for June 3. This time, Warren would most likely use a cadaver tendon to rebuild Bentley's ravaged patella.
But after an examination in May, Warren decided against the surgery.
"He told me my knee was sufficiently healed enough to live a normal life," said Bentley, who was the top-rated free agent when the Browns signed him in March of 2006. "He said, Go retire, go fishing, go live your life.' "
Football was not part of the discussion. But Warren got the wheels turning in Bentley's mind.
"If he's telling me I don't need surgery," Bentley said, "I started thinking, Maybe I can play again.' "
Bentley took his rehab to another level and began working out in Columbus, including some at Ohio State. "I started to feel like a football player again," he said.
When he told Warren about his progress in mid-June, the doctor deemed it remarkable. "He told me to call him in a couple of weeks and that if everything looked good, he'd pass me on my physical," Bentley said.
Bentley, who's rehabbing again in Phoenix, called Browns coach Romeo Crennel about a week ago and told him he'd be coming to camp and that he'd try to play this season.
"He said great and that he'd see me then," Bentley said.
Bentley said he'll most likely start camp by working out individually and then ease his way into position drills. "I don't anticipate any contact until at least three weeks into it," he said.
He said he'll take it one day at a time, but that his goal is to play in the opener Sept. 9 against Pittsburgh.
"I want to fulfill my promise to Browns fans to come back and help this team win," he said. "I don't want to let anybody down."
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/118327899035090.xml&coll=2
