Atlanta United striker Josef Martinez tore the anterior cruciate ligament — one of four ligaments in the joint that stabilizes the knee — on his right leg during a collision with a Nashville player.
» MORE: Options for Atlanta without Josef Martinez
Martinez, 26, could miss four to six months. He is not the first Atlanta star athlete to see a season derailed by knee injury.
Here are three other pros who came back from an ACL tear:
Jamal Anderson, Atlanta Falcons
Falcons running back Jamal Anderson was injured in the second game of the 1999 season against the Dallas Cowboys.
Anderson took a handoff and was running left, when he cut right he immediately fell to the ground, clenching his right knee.
Just a year prior, Anderson had led the Falcons to a Super Bowl while setting team records with 410 attempts, 1,846 yards and 16 touchdowns.
He returned in 2000, rushing for 1,024 yards, but the Falcons went 4-12.
A season later, against the same Cowboys, Anderson tore the same ligament in the right knee during an 80-yard touchdown drive on the game’s opening series. Anderson — on his 29th birthday — was running right on a routine sweep when he planted hard on his left knee and tumbled to the grass.
Anderson, the originator of the "Dirty Bird" celebration, retired due to the injury.
Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
Chipper Jones’ Hall of Fame career in Atlanta started with a lost season due to an ACL tear.
In a spring game in 1994, Jones, who had homered earlier in the game, hit a grounder to New York Yankees shortstop Dave Silvestri. Silvestri’s throw to first forced Jim Leyritz to move off the bag toward the plate. Jones turned in an attempt to avoid the tag, but immediately grabbed his left leg and fell to the ground.
Jones returned for his first full season with the Braves in 1995, leading all major league rookies in RBIs (86), games played (145), games started (123), plate appearances (602), at bats (524), and runs scored (87).
Jones would suffer a second ligament tear in his left knee 16 years later at the age of 38, fielding a ground ball to third. He had surgery in August 2010 and was on the opening day lineup the following March.
Jones didn't "want the fans' final image of me to be one of me hurt on the field."
Jones, a six-time All-Star and 1999 NL MVP, finished his illustrious career in 2012. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Lou Williams, Atlanta Hawks
Lou Williams, the Hawks' third-leading scorer at the time, tore the ACL in his right knee just 39 games into the season.
The injury came in a game against Brooklyn in January 2013 when Williams stole the ball and was driving to the basket with about 7 minutes left. His leg appeared to give out as he tried to plant and go up for the shot. He limped out of bounds behind the basket and was eventually taken to the locker room area.
The 26-year-old Williams, who played at Snellville’s South Gwinnett High School — Mr. Georgia Basketball of 2005 — was in his first season with the Hawks. He was averaging 14.1 points.
Williams was traded to Toronto when he struggled to return to form in 2014. He was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2015, 2018 and 2019. He stars with the Los Angeles Clippers, his fourth team since leaving the Hawks.
