Brock Bowers details recovery process from ankle injury

Georgia fans were devastated following the team’s 37-20 win over Vanderbilt in Week 7 when news surfaced that star tight end Brock Bowers would have to undergo surgery after leaving the game with an ankle injury.

Bowers got a tight-rope procedure on his ankle on Monday, October 16 two days after suffering the injury in order to speed up the healing process from a high ankle sprain, which clearly worked as he returned to action in Week 11 for the Bulldogs dominant win over Ole Miss.

A return from injury never comes easy, and the week following his return Bowers was asked to detail his quick turnaround following the injury and if he paid attention to how others in the past have quickly recovered from the same surgery.

“I mean yeah, getting all set up was pretty crazy because my mom came down after Vanderbilt, they told her to come down just in case. It was just all a mess at first, but we got it all figured out, got it done, and then I wasn’t really paying attention to all of that,” Bowers said. “I mean I just kind of was reaching benchmarks and whenever I could play I could play and it ended up being last week.”

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa famously returned from the same surgery in under a month during the 2018 postseason, but Bowers kept his focus throughout the process on progressing fast at his own pace on a daily basis.

“I liked the rehab process because it was going fast, I was progressing pretty fast and hitting those benchmarks like I said,” Bowers explained. “But yeah, it was always kind of like the next day I wanted to see what I could hit and see if I could hit faster than the other day, so it was kind of fun in that way.”

Bowers was on a snap count in his first game back this past Saturday, but still managed to pick back up where he left off with three receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown. And as his workload will increase to close out the season, he also spoke on what he’ll continue to do in order to ensure his ankle stays healthy.

“We were just doing a bunch of physical therapy and rehab in the mornings and obviously practice in the afternoon and doing just a whole bunch of strengthening, and flexibility, and trying to keep the swelling down too,” Bowers said. “Just taping it and spatting it up, usually, I wouldn’t get my ankle spatted.”

Bowers and the Bulldogs face No. 18 Tennessee on the road this Saturday, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and will air on CBS.