Here’s a story to run in tomorrow’s Danville Register & Bee about George Washington grad Kenny Lewis and his recent setback from Achilles tendon surgery.

I’ll come back and update with tidbits from today’s practice, including interview highlights with Hill City native Logan Thomas and Danville native David Wilson. The two freshmen were all smiles after participating in their first practice as Hokies.

By NATHAN WARTERS

(434) 385-5540

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech senior tailback Kenny Lewis suffered another setback in his rehab from Achilles tendon surgery and could be out for at least the first month of the season, Hokies head athletic trainer Mike Goforth said Thursday.

Lewis, a George Washington High grad, had to have a fourth surgery recently to remove sutures and clean up an infection on the skin around the wound.

It was the second touch-up surgery around the wound after two initial procedures to repair the torn left Achilles tendon suffered last October against Western Kentucky.

Lewis can’t rehab the injury until the wound is healed, but even then, it could be a while before he is ready to play again.

“I’d say right now, if we can get the wound clean, we’re looking at two, three months minimal (from now), once the wound gets closed,” Goforth said.

Lewis has had multiple setbacks in getting back from the injury. A month after his initial surgery, he slipped in the shower and re-injured the tendon. Then he had to have two procedures, including the latest, to clean up infections.

If Lewis, who turns 25 in October, misses significant time this season, he could apply for a medical redshirt.

If that’s the case, he’d be a ripe old age of 26 his senior season at Tech. He matriculated to Blacksburg late because of a three-year minor league stint in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

It still might be too early to count Lewis out for this season, though. His recent problems notwithstanding, Lewis has proven to be a fast healer. He made a rapid recovery from shoulder surgery and was ready to play well before expected last season.

“According to Kenny, (he has a) 100 percent (probability of getting back this season),” Goforth said. “We don’t quite feel that strong, but we’re not ruling him out. Kenny is a great guy. He’s very strong. He knows his body well, so I’ve got to trust him.

“I don’t think we’ll see anything the first three of four games, but what we’ve done is try to set up a deal where every month we notify his dad, himself, our strength staff, the wound therapist, the two surgeons that are involved with him to just touch base once a month to see where we’re at with it.”

The challenge right now is not so much the Achilles rehab, it’s getting the wound healed.

“We’ve had to kind of treat him with kid gloves, but as soon as we can get the wound taken care of, we can rehab it pretty well,” Goforth said. “He’s strong as an ox. He’ll be able to jump back from that pretty quickly.”