Miami Hurricanes LB Michael Pinckney faces long rehab with hip injury

Miami Hurricanes linebacker Michael Pinckney who was a four-year starter will require hip surgery that will keep him off the field for the next six to nine months. Pinkney was in good spirits in an interview with Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports.

Linebacker Michael Pinckney teamed with Shaq Quarterman to form one of the best duos in the history of the Miami Hurricanes football program. Pinckney was fifth in tackles as a freshman in 2016 and third each of the last three seasons. What was not known was that Pinckney was playing with a hip injury.

The hip injury was finally diagnosed as a torn labrum per Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports in an interview with Pinckney that was posted ahead of the NFL Combine. Finally being able to receive a diagnosis on exactly what the injury is was a relief for Pinckney. He chose to see the positive in a tough situation.

LaCanfora reported that Pinckney played through the torn labrum at the East-West Shrine game in January. That was the last game Pinckney and Quarterman played together in college. Pinckney wanted to go through workouts at the combine in spite of the torn labrum. He made the wise decision to not workout in Indianapolis.

Pinckney will return to Miami following meetings and interviews with NFL teams at the Combine for a final meeting with a hip specialist before getting surgery to repair his injury. The high level of pain tolerance that Pinckney had to have to continue to play through an excruciating injury speaks volumes to the player he is.

"“Even in these kinds of situations, there’s always a positive you can take out of it. You just have to find it…I wasn’t aware it was going to be something like this…It came as a total shock. I’ve been feeling it for a while, but it’s never been this excruciating; it just kind of bothered me and slowed me down.There’s a difference between playing in pain and getting through it, and then actually performing a certain way and trying to get a certain time in a sprint or a drill.I’ve been feeling this for like two years — it’s crazy to me in some ways because two years is a long time to have something like that — but for me to be able to be on draft boards despite that, I still feel like that’s a blessing that I could still compete at a high level.”"

Pinckney finished his Miami Hurricanes career with  285 career tackles, 42.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, eight pass breakups and three interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus via LaCanfora, Pinckney missed just five tackles in his Miami career. Pinckney played in the Shrine game despite learning about the hip injury just before.

"“I still went out and had a hell of a game…It’s crazy to me that I’ve been playing with this for so long, and I’ve been able to withstand this type of thing.”"

The injury is a devastating one for one of the most underrated players in Miami Hurricanes history. Pinckney will be sidelined at the beginning of the 2020 NFL season. That result will likely hurt his draft stock. Pinckney’s character and positivity should help him during his interviews.

"“The plan for right now is for us go to the combine and let all the teams know and make them aware of the situation…And then hopefully we’ll try to get the surgery done in early March. As soon as I leave the combine I’ll go back to Miami and see the specialist.I’ll be down for camp — it’s going to be a six-to-nine month recovery — so I’ll be down for a while but I can’t wait to get started."

For many young men about to embark on their professional careers, this is a devastating development. Pinckney has the right attitude and is ready to have the surgery and get to work on his rehab. He has a long six to nine months of work ahead of him. Let’s hope he has a full recovery a long NFL career.