Whitney Hand Out Five Months

The ACL tear that prematurely ended Hand's sophomore season continues to haunt her.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:54 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Aug 17, 2010 6:42 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma – University of Oklahoma sophomore Whitney Hand will be forced to sit out five months after microfracture surgery performed Thursday.

Hand was scheduled to undergo a minor surgery to eliminate swelling in her knee, but doctors discovered a cartilage defect that caused a second procedure.

Hand earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors after the 2008-2009 season, but suffered a season-ending ACL tear last year after just five starts. That cartilage tear is still causing her problems.

“This is really just a continuation of repair from the original injury,” OU head coach Sherri Coale said in a statement. “While we’re certainly disappointed that her ‘finish line,’ so to speak, has been moved back a bit, the important thing is that she will experience a full and complete recovery."

If the five-month timetable holds true, Hand will miss approximately the first half of OU's season. She would likely make her debut sometime in mid- to late-Janurary.

After Hand’s injury last season, she became an unofficial member of the coaching staff and remained one of the team’s biggest emotional leaders. Earlier in the offseason, Coale said Hand’s rehabilitation was going well.

“As much as I loved her sitting by me, I’d sure rather watch her play,” Coale said at the time. “She’s rehabbed well, just as we all knew she would. She’s attacked it just like she attacks going to the gym and working on her jump shot. She’s doing great and expected to play just like she did, maybe even better than before.”