Sometimes, unfortunately, injuries do happen. Injuries like ACL tears usually require surgery. However, it is not easy to make a decision and have a surgical procedure done, psychologically and timing-wise. Sometimes, it is wise to have it done right away. Sometimes, the athlete can wait. This decision making should be done considering the severity of the injury, recovery time, etc.
Rehab after ACL reconstruction takes about 5-6 months. This means, for some sports, the end of a season. Let's say the injured athlete is a professional baseball player and gets injured during spring training. This means that he will be more than likey miss the entire season. And his goal will become returning to the field the next season. If he gets surgery done by June, he will have enough time to get ready for the following season. However, he has about 3 months to make his mind up. In his case, he has an option to try to rehab his knee until then. If it works, he may be able to play. If not, he can go ahead and get a procedure done.
On the other hand, let's say the injured athlete is a 16 year-old soccer player who plays for a club team and for high school. In this case, her soccer season is pretty much all year around. It will probably better for her to have surgery done sooner because the longer she waits the longer her return to play will be.
Some cases are more complicated than these cases. But final decision should be made by the injured athlete (and parents if the athlete is a minor), not the surgeon or coach.
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