Mariano Rivera Likely Devastated By Practice Injury-just who he is and what lies ahead

Mariano Rivera,42,a future baseball Hall of Fame candidate who plays for the New York Yankees,apparently sustained a terrible knee injury before a game with the Kansas City Royals in Kansas on Thursday.Preliminary findings are that Rivera tore his anterior cruciate ligament,or ACL,while practicing catching fly balls,or "shagging flies,"as it is called.The injury is much more common in women than in men,as well as in older athletes who have a lot of wear and tear in that area.In layman's terms,the ACL ties the upper leg bone to the lower.A torn ACL increases the likelihood of further knee injuries,so professional athletes choose surgical treatment unless they want to retire. ACL surgery involves reconstruction using a ligament from another part of the body.This procedure makes the patient more vulnerable to early onset of chronic degenerative joint disease,however. Rivera is a relief pitcher famous for sucessfully closing out the game for the starting pitchers on his team.He has allowed the opposing teams very few runs in the process.Rivera is a veteran of 18 seasons with the Yankees.This year,he had already saved 5 games for the Yankees,with a low earned run average of 2.16 and 8 strikeouts. Recovery from ACL surgery takes 6-9 months,so it would end Rivera's season.Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the injury is as bad as it gets.It changes things a lot for the team,reducing the depth of the bullpen,or relief pitching staff.I've never seen anyone come back from that injury before the end of the season,Girardi noted. Update:The preliminary findings were confirmed.On Friday,Mariano Rivera said I AM COMING BACK.Write it in big letters.I don't want to go out that way,he insisted.He can begin working out in five months.