Auburn receiver Will Hastings will miss the rest of the season after undergoing a second procedure on his left knee Thursday, his father tells Auburn Undercover.

Hastings tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in March, but made a quick return to the field by Week 2 of the 2018 season on Sept. 18. He suffered issues with the knee in late September and it was discovered further repair to the ACL was needed, which led to surgery Thursday.

“His mom and I are both here and he had his first rehab session this morning,” Scott Hastings told Auburn Undercover. “Good thing is he knows what to do.”



Will Hastings was targeted by quarterback Jarrett Stidham once and did not record any statistics. He sat out Auburn’s last two games.

Auburn coaches and teammates had marveled at the fast recovery by Hastings, who needed less than six months to return to the field. Coaches exercised caution after playing him against Alabama State and LSU for a total of less than 10 snaps.

“He refuses to stay down,” Scott Hastings said. “Not sure where he gets that but I wish I had that much fight in me.”

Most doctors believe an average recovery time from a torn ACL in the knee to be seven to nine months. The average recovery time for NFL players in 2010 was 10.8 months, according to a study by the Richmond Bone and Joint Clinic in Sugarland, Texas. The average recovery time in 2014 was 10 months, according to a Bleacher Report study of 24 NFL players.

“I think it was 20 or 30 minutes after Will tore his ACL in the stadium in the spring and he said, ‘Coach, I’m going to come back faster than anybody has come back from one of these,’” Auburn strength and conditioning coach Ryan Russell said in August. “Credit to him and Eli, too. It’s been cool that both of them have been able to rehab together and they look awesome right now. That’s all the credit to them and the sports medicine staff helping them get back. A lot of that is their mindset they approached their rehab with. Rehab is a grind. They’re going to be in there between 6 and 6:30 starting their rehab every morning, for an hour and a half, two hours, whatever that leg trainer needs them for and they still have to come in and do their workout and all that. For them to be so consistent with their daily approach to where they are now, that’s just awesome to see. That’s a credit to those guys.”

Hastings and Eli Stove, who also suffered a torn ACL in March, were among the top five receivers on the roster last season, combining for 790 receiving yards, including Hastings’ breakout season of 525 yards.

The ACL is not any ordinary ligament. It’s the connective tissue between the thigh bone and the shin bone inside the knee. The process for a tendon graft to fully heal as it replaces the torn ACL in the knee is 18 months, according to Dr. David Chao, a former NFL trainer. Many athletes do not wait that long to return to competition.

No. 8 Auburn (4-1, 1-1 SEC) travels to Mississippi State (3-2, 0-2) for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday on ESPN2.

*** Try us FOR FREE for 7 days and get the latest Auburn recruiting and team scoops ***

*** Get FREE Auburn breaking news in your inbox ***