Baseless cynicism huh?
Suggest you do some research into the knee reconstruction recovery experiences of 95 kg plus AFL players.
You will find they talk about a 2 year recovery, the 12 months post surgery and then 12 months to regain playing form.
Having a knee reconstruction as a 110kg ruckman is a high risk procedure. Not only is the risk of recurrence much higher in larger athletes, but most of their play is based around putting stress through the knee.
There is a greater likelihood of secondary issues with the knee like cartilage damage, loss of motion and function and other like issues.
You can also build all the confidence you like in the knee at training but until you stand face to face with another 100kg plus monster who is going to charge at you and try and put all his weight into your body, or stand in a pack under a high ball while 350kg worth of pack crashes into you, then it is all pretty worthless. Ask any reconstructed player and they will tell you it understandably takes some time to clear the thoughts of risk and danger from your mind and start to attack the footy again in the same way you did before. It's not a case of playing a couple of scratchies and being good to go.
Soldo is returning from a very significant injury and will need a long time to fully recover. Our expectations on him for next season should be very low, any contribution he makes will be a welcome bonus.
the bigger the person it tends to be the slower and sometimes more problematic the recovery
tends to be is key
playing 4th rugby union and a first grader did his knee in the last practice game
he was a second rower and very similar build to Ivan
he dropped back and coached 4th grade and he was sprinting in straight lines with us at training before seasons end and he was fine the following season
Ivan has had a more troubled time post surgery and probably done more damage initially
but look to the way our medical team deal with our ankle injuries
I have a lot of faith in our medical team to rehab Ivan and condition him in such a way he will have his confidence back
and training watches reporting Ivan was looking very fresh and lively at training towards then end of the season
the one plus will be his body has had a rest
and he will be hungry , he knows Nank needs support and he knows Sampson and Colina are coming
there's your opportunity Ivan , go grab it