Finally — some good news for SMU offensive lineman Joey Fontana.

In one of the final practices before the Mustangs headed to Hawaii for the 2009 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Fontana’s left knee was torn up when a teammate rolled into his left leg. The joint was hyperextended and dislocated, and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), lateral collateral ligament (LCL), posterior collateral ligament (PCL), the meniscus and the posterolateral corner all were torn.

Five months after his second surgery, Joey Fontana learned that the nerve activity below his knee has shown signs of improvement (photo by SMU athletics).

Fontana underwent surgery Dec. 22 to have the knee rebuilt. In April, he had another operation to free up a nerve compressed by scar tissue from his first operation. Since then, he has had three electromygrams (EMGs), a test that detects electrical (nerve) activity in muscles.

When he had his operation in April, Fontana was told it would be anywhere from five to nine months before the nerve would show any nerve activity.

The third post-surgery EMG was performed Sept. 23 — five months and three days after the operation — and brought Fontana the most encouraging news he has received yet.

“They have something called ‘Tinel’s Sign’ (a test in which doctors lightly tap a damaged or irritated nerve to determine its ability to transmit impulses) that they used, tapping the side of my knee, and they were looking to see if they could get some tingling in my toes. After the surgery, they could tap lower and lower down the side of my leg — the doctors said that’s a good sign.

“Since my (April) surgery, I have had more feeling in my leg. In that surgery, they cut in below the knee, and they cleared out all of that (scar tissue) and let the nerve ‘breathe’ again. They said that if it went well, the nerve could heal about one millimeter per day — it seems like it is.”

Fontana admitted that when he went in for his third EMG, he was cautious with his optimism.

“I went in hoping for the best, but expecting the worst,” he said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much, only to get bad news.

“But then, I didn’t get bad news.”

The encouraging news Fontana received does not mean he is out of the proverbial woods just yet. Fontana can move his foot inward, and can press down against the ground, but he can not yet left his foot up from the ankle, or press it out to his side. Nonetheless, he said he knows his newest prognosis is a cause for optimism, albeit cautious optimism.

“For me, when I heard they found nerve activity, I was really excited,” Fontana said. “But I’m not satisfied. I won’t be satisfied until I can tell it to move and it moves.”

Fontana met recently with one of his doctors, who told him that Fontana would continue to work on his rehabilitation and have another EMG in a two months.

“If the nerve is better, we’ll go another two months and take another test,” Fontana said. “If it’s not better, we might have to consider some other kind of surgery.”

In the meantime, Fontana’s routine includes arduous hours working with the SMU strength and conditioning staff and with a physical therapist.

“I’ve been working with a therapist over at the Carrell Clinic,” he said. “They have got me almost jogging — jogging on a treadmill with my hands — and I’ve been (riding) a bike, doing the elliptical machine and jogging in a pool.

“I’ve also been working out with (SMU strength and conditioning head coach) Mel (deLaura), and I’ve dropped from 312 pounds to 282 since August, and my upper body stronger than ever been. It was tough to stay in shape, spending six months on my back. But I’m getting there.”

Fontana said the doctors have not altered his prognosis or a timetable for a possible return to football, but he remains adamant that if his leg allows him to play, he will.

“If my foot movement is back, they said I can participate in spring drills — no contact, but enough to get my football savvy back,” Fontana said. “But if I’m back, I’m playing in August — if it’s possible to play, I’m not watching from the stands again.”