David Montgomery’s faith, physical preparation responsible for rapid recovery

When David Montgomery and one of his trainers watched video of his latest injury, they were stunned to find it wasn’t much worse.

“We looked at when the hit happened and how it happened, there’s no way – if you look at the hit how it happened – that I didn’t tear my ACL,” Montgomery said during his press session Tuesday.

Although he avoided a torn ACL, Montgomery suffered a torn MCL, according to reports. Montgomery called it an MCL sprain, essentially the same thing.

You may remember the viral videos of him deadlifting over 700 pounds, or Detroit Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery praising the veteran running back for putting in an unmatched amount of work in the spring.

“Everything we asked him to do, he did more than that,” Scottie Montgomery said in September. “He came back as polite as a guy I saw come back. I think he’s probably had the most consistent camp out of everyone, not only on our team but out of everyone. And when I say consistent, I mean always excellent, not always good or average.

It’s this relentless work that David Montgomery credits for surviving a brutal blow.

“It’s a fierce, crazy game. These are grown men hitting each other at full speed. If you’re not strong and your body can’t handle it, you’re not going to make it,” Montgomery said. “So I’m lucky and I’m lucky to be able to be here and to be able to play right now, because if you look at the hit, it doesn’t look good, it’s really blatant.”

After the injury, Montgomery wasted no time feeling bad about himself. Although dealing with an injury during the key period of the season can be a difficult mental hurdle to overcome for some, Montgomery relied on his faith to give him perspective.

“Every time I get a chance to look at my life and the way it’s been sculpted and shaped, it’s too many things that happened the way they happened, at the time they happened produced, that it could not have been impossible that it was me. that’s what did it,” Montgomery said.

“I don’t know. I don’t know your beliefs, but just my childhood and the things I’ve been through – I’ve been through a lot, a lot of things that I’ve seen people not cope with Just having the opportunity to be able to wear this lion on my helmet, or to be able to show my son that his father is doing something that a lot of people want to do, it allows me to have some gratitude for my. life and all that. amazing.

So Montgomery moved forward, attacked his “intense” rehab, and now he’s able to return this Saturday night for the Lions’ playoff opener against the Washington Commanders. Even though Tuesday was just a step-by-step practice, Montgomery was already on the roster as a full participant. And when Saturday comes, he doesn’t expect to have any limitations, whether it’s physical equipment or pitch count.

“I feel like if you’re going to take precautions, I shouldn’t be there.” So I ride.