I don't know, but I don't think a torn meniscus is a big deal. Maybe someone more knowledgable in that stuff can chime in. He played most of last season with it so I doubt it was too big of a deal anyway. I'm also guessing it wasn't a full tear if he played the whole season on it.
I know it is not pro and a different position but my daughters boyfriend tore one meniscus wrestling in the off season and was ready for spring practice, the following season same exact scenario on the other knee and ready for spring practice. This was as a guard carrying 300 lbs. and he didn't have any problems last year with either knee. I know there are different type of meniscus tears though, some worse than others. Being he played last year on it I don't think it could have been that bad and with some down time now for rehab I would think he should be fine.
I'm not even sure he had any surgery to repair the ligament. In that interview with Marty M in the other thread, he said that he thought CJ was just recovering from a scope. I'm sure it was a more elaborate scope than Colon just had, but it didn't sound like it was a big time surgery. They're probably just using it as an excuse for CJ to skip most of the off-season workouts.
A torn meniscus can be a relatively minor affair that, left alone, can heal on its own or it can be more severe and only repaired with surgery. Tears can occur in different places and can cause the knee to lock up and/or fluid build up/swelling. Anyone who has had "water on the knee" is familiar with the sensation wherein it feels like the knee has literally been injected with glue and feels heavy. Depending on the location and severity of the tear, it can also be very painful, particularly for someone trying to run and/or cut on it. A small tear in one place in the joint can be worse than a larger tear in another as far as pain and restriction of mobility and range of motion is concerned. Some players have a much higher pain threshold than others so without knowing the precise details and extent of Johnson's injury, it is impossible to ascertain it's actual severity simply because he played the entire season on it. He does have a reputation for being tough so that coupled with the fact that the staff is being careful and bringing him along slowly leads me to suspect that his injury was not a minor one.
