McChesney remains optimistic despite injured knee

Good things happen to those who hustle. But then again, someone has probably read that on a fortune cookie two or three times before.

For David McChesney, his efforts chasing down a baseball out of play didn’t win him Gulf Coast Athletic Conference player of the week nor did it help his team gain a victory – all his efforts earned him was a trip to the doctor’s office.

The Loyola Wolfpack’s outfielder sustained a fracture in his left patella, located in his knee, Feb. 23 against Louisiana College while attempting to catch a ball in foul territory. McChesney, marketing senior, however, remained in the game until his knee began swelling.

Initially, there was no sign of any type of fracture in McChesney’s knee. “We came back and started rehab and David just didn’t feel right,” Cassard said. “So that’s when our trainers took another picture and discovered a hairline fracture.”

Team trainers restricted McChesney from any activity and encouraged plenty of rest to allow his knee to heal. During the first weeks of the fracture, there wasn’t much he could do — the fracture had to heal itself before any activity.

The doctors set a timetable of 4-8 weeks until McChesney could return to the field. Six weeks into his injury, he has begun the process of rehabilitating the knee.

“I have just been resting my knee, but the doctor informed me that it was healing well. He said that I could start working so I have been icing and doing a little work on the stair machine to help recover,” McChesney said.

According to McChesney, the doctors informed him that he is about 70 percent healed so he has been cleared by team trainers to resume brief activity.

“I started jogging, swinging the bat a little bit, and fielding the ball some,” he said.

“He is doing good right now. David is going to start going next week with a decent workload. If it feels good, he is going to take another x-ray the next week to see if it’s progressing enough to the point where he can take some live reps,” said Coach Cassard.

Coach Cassard believes McChesney is right on schedule to make a return possibly in the series against William Carey University on March 10.

“He is around that six week window so the series against Springhill could be a question mark,” Cassard said.

“We are hoping that maybe by William Carey we have a chance to get him back in the lineup.”

“I will try to come back early, but we will see how the rehab goes from here,” McChesney said. “I have another scheduled visit in two weeks.

McChesney, a transfer from Division I McNeese State, has hit for a team best .389 batting average, along with three HRs and 19 RBIs in only sixteen games this year for the Wolfpack.

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].