The "happy?" triad the ortho called it

by Kyle
(Utah)

I don't know whats so happy about possibly tearing 3 things but anyway. About a week ago playing basketball I planted my right foot and me knee came out laterally. My orthopedist said after the exam that it may be mcl,acl, and meniscus injury.

I personally don't think its the acl, as I didn't really twist my knee, more of a straight side to side thing, and I didn't hear any popping or any of that. What my question is... if i hurt only my mcl (most likely according to my research) or my meniscus, is it possible to avoid surgery with physical therapy.

I read that they want to reconstruct with surgery only if the knee is unstable and i can walk ok, and there is stability, but i can't completely bend the knee or straighten yet, I'm assuming that when the swelling goes down that will change. Sorry kind of a lot of stuff in there, but any information is helpful, thank you very much in advance!