After suffering cartilage damage in his right knee Tuesday at practice, senior safety Kevin Stefanski said he hoped to return for Penn's Ivy League opener Oct. 4 against Dartmouth.
Stefanski had a successful surgery Thursday at Presbyterian Hospital with Dr. Brian Sennett to repair the meniscus cartilage.
Ironically, however, a successful surgery meant that Stefanski will have to undergo a longer rehabilitation.
Rather than miss two games, Stefanski will be out for the rest of the year.
"It didn't look as though the meniscus cartilage was reparable [in the initial MRI], so they were going to remove it," Stefanski said. "They repaired it, so there's good news and bad news.
"Good news is, I'll have the meniscus.... The bad news is, I'm done for the year."
Had the meniscus been removed, Stefanski could have returned within three weeks.
Stefanski understood the short-term and long-term implications of having the cartilage removed and opted to have it repaired.
In the long term, Stefanski will benefit from not having the meniscus removed.
"In 15 or 20 years, it's not as good for you [to have it removed] because you're more apt to get arthritis and some other problems," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said.
In the short term, Penn's secondary will certainly miss its starting safety.
Bagnoli hopes he'll step into a new role off the field.
"Kevin was really having a terrific preseason, he was a leader back there and really controlled everything," Bagnoli said. "It will be important for him to come out here and almost act like an assistant coach for us.
"He's got that kind of understanding of what we do."
Stefanski tore the anterior cruciate ligament in that same knee two years ago in the season opener against Lafayette and missed the whole year. Before undergoing surgery, Stefanski said he planned to use his extra year of eligibility next season. Now, he's not so sure.
"It's way too early to tell," Stefanski said.
But one thing is for sure: Bagnoli hopes Stefanski will return next season.
"Hopefully, he'll be back 100 percent [next season] and hopefully the gods will let him have a season that's free of injuries," Bagnoli said.
With Stefanski out, junior Bryan Arguello will be the starting safety.
Last season, Arguello played in eight games and recorded two interceptions.
In addition, junior Seth Fisher and sophomore Casey Edgar will also receive playing time in the secondary.
"We still got some experienced guys back there," Bagnoli said. "But we'll miss Kevin."
