By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Southern Alamance lacrosse standout Tustin Johnson, also the school’s quarterback on the football team, has been rehabbing into the summer after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
“Can’t catch a break,” Johnson said.
Then a junior, he underwent surgery April 24, marking the end of his lacrosse season.
“I’d rather go ahead and get it done,” Johnson said.
The surgery was multi-pronged, involving dislocation of the kneecap, torn patella tendon, and strain of the medial collateral ligament. He said the recovery time is anticipated to be about four months, indicating his goal is to be ready for the start of the football season in August.
Last week, he said he learned that August 11 is the potential date to return to full activity. He has been with Southern’s football team for recent offseason work in a limited capacity.
Johnson was also a starter for the Patriots’ boys’ basketball team. The knee injury stemmed from a February 10 basketball game at Cummings, so he missed the rest of the season.
He played in the first couple of weeks of the lacrosse season, often hobbling, before shutting down.
Johnson, a midfielder in lacrosse, ranks on some of the Southern program’s all-time records list in what amounts to 2½ seasons of playing time.
He said he could have played through the injury, but doctors warned about the long-term impact.
“It wasn’t really the pain thing,” Johnson said. “(The tendon) was really loose and then it could have dislocated again.”
Johnson missed the 2024 football season because of an all-terrain vehicle accident that resulted in a broken left arm.
