Michigan safety Rod Moore has knee surgery: 'It all went great'

Michigan starting safety Rod Moore, who was expected to be a major contributor and leader this fall, has undergone successful knee surgery, he shared in an Instagram post on Thursday.

His left leg and knee were bandaged and he was wearing a protective brace while sitting in a wheelchair, crutches clutched in his right hand, in a photo Moore posted to his social media page.

“Just came through surgery and it all went great!” Moore wrote under the photo. “Wanted to take this time to thank everyone for their love and support. My Michigan brothers, training staff, coaches, Friends, my parents, my family, fans, Dr ElAttrache and Elite Ortho. Words can’t express the gratitude I feel. From the day it happened y’all have kept me uplifted. I know by faith and God’s will, I will be healed and better than b4.”

Moore, a 6-foot, 198-pounder who had 38 tackles in 12 games last season and an interception that sealed the victory against Ohio State, suffered the injury early during spring practice, which concluded last Saturday.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Moore’s surgery in Los Angeles, is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and is the head team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Rams. He is a former President of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and also handled the knee surgery of former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara.

“It's heartbreaking,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said of Moore’s injury during an appearance this week on the in-house podcast, “In the Trenches." “You feel for anybody, leaders especially, that have put so much time in and impacted this team in so many ways. It was heartbreaking. Same feeling I had when (offensive lineman Zak) Zinter got hurt last year. You feel so helpless. You can't do anything for them. Praying for him and I know he will recover and get fully healthy.”

Sherrone Moore said on the podcast that when Rod Moore was injured, he still attended spring practices and stayed involved in meetings.

“He was texting me, ‘Coach, I want to be at practice but it kinda hurts to stand. You got a golf cart?’” the head coach said. “We got him one and let him drive around. He's in meetings. Anything he can be around, we want him in. Just fully emerge him in everything we do.”

Sherrone Moore told reporters last Monday during a spring practice wrap-up news conference that he doesn’t know the safety's prognosis.

“I'm not a doctor so I don't know exactly how fast it is and what that process is,” Moore said. “Hopeful.”

Earlier during spring practice, new defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan spoke of how Moore had helped him coach the defensive backs.

“The guy gets injured, the next day he’s the first guy in the front seat in every meeting,” Morgan said. “He hasn’t missed anything. He’s asking questions. He’s unbelievable. But I know one thing — whatever’s in front of that kid, he’ll be better. Whenever he gets back on the field, he’ll be better than the last time he was on it, for sure.”\

achengelis@detroitnews.com

@chengelis