The fact All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner was this close to rejoining his teammates when the San Francisco 49ers took on the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs last January despite coming off a brutal broken and dislocated ankle earlier in the regular season is, well... unbelievable.
Except it's Warner, so anything is believable with the future Hall of Famer.
His recovery from the ankle injury didn't just happen, though. It took a lot of work, and as the star backer recently told The Athletic's Matt Barrows (h/t 49ers Webzone), it actually involved getting out of his natural comfort zone.
And into the pool.
Fred Warner admits swimming made a world of difference in injury recovery
Warner could swim before the injury. Let's establish that, but we'll also revisit just how well (or not well) he was in the water.
Meanwhile, the linebacker admitted it was swimming that helped him reduce swelling and regain motion.
"I was constantly dealing with swelling," Warner admitted. "So when I would put it in the water and just kick, it was a natural flushing of the ankle. Every time I got out of the water, my ankle looked so much better than it did going in."
Side note, I used to swim and play water polo in high school, and I can personally attest to the benefits, not just regarding injury but also for strength and conditioning.
That said, Warner wasn't exactly a natural in the water, as San Jose State swim and dive coach Sage Hopkins (who worked with the linebacker) told Barrows.
"He was at Level 1—not drowning, but if he fell off of a boat far from shore, he likely wouldn't have made it back," Hopkins told Barrows.
Yet the swim coach subsequently admitted Warner improved dramatically, and Hopkins remarked how the 49ers star might actually be able to go up against collegiate competition in the pool now.
Next stop? Matching up against Olympian Michael Phelps, right?
Let's pump the breaks on that, but it is nevertheless remarkable to see how Warner used this unfamiliar avenue to ultimately recover faster than most anyone could've imagined.
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