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A torn ligament is vastly different from torn cartilage. With torn cartilage, the tissue is either resewn together or trimmed away. With a completely torn ligament, the ligament needs to be reattached or built out of a piece of another one. With a torn ACL, a piece of the patellar tendon (knee), is taken out and used to construct the ACL. The pat. tendon is left shorter, as is the ACL. That is why the first part of rehab is stretching apparently very painfully. Then, as the ligaments and tendons start to heal, strength training can be applied, with more stretching. Don't pay attention to what athletes do, because their teams have them on million dollar contracts and they don't care if a player has permanent injuries after their careers are over. Expect up to a year for a full recovery. However, if you are conscientious with your rehab, you can expect a complete recovery. So much depends on people's willingness to suffer through the pain to promote healing. Good luck.
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