It looks like the Green Bay Packers will be without Love for the next few NFL games. Jordan Love, the Packers’ 25-year-old starting quarterback, has suffered a left knee injury that has Packers fans quite concerned. It happened in the final seconds of the Packers’ 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in their opening game. A subsequent MRI revealed a grade 1 or 2 medial ligament strain, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. That means Love will likely return in three to six weeks.

While no one is going to say, “Yay, I have an MCL sprain,” this is definitely better news for Packers fans than a more serious knee injury like a torn ACL. A sprain is essentially a torn ligament in medical jargon. A ligament is a band of connective tissue that connects one bone to another in a joint and prevents the joint from moving. So if you tear a ligament badly enough, your joint can go shaky, so to speak.

Each of your knees has four ligaments that run from your femur to your tibia and fibula: a medial ligament, an anterior cruciate ligament, a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and a lateral ligament (LCL). The term “medial” is an important clue as to where the medial ligament runs. It runs along the medial side of your knee, which is the inside of your knee, or the side you can see when you put your head between your knees.

When it comes to grading MCL sprains, less is certainly more. The lower the rating, the less damage. Here is the grading system:

• MCL tear grade 1 (mild): These tears, which affect less than 10% of the ligament’s fibers, can cause tenderness and mild pain. However, the knee remains relatively stable. Such injuries usually heal on their own without surgery. You generally need to rest for one to three weeks.
• MCL tear grade 2 (moderate): This affects more fibers in the ligament and usually results in more pain and tenderness, as well as some loosening that may be caused when you press against your knee with your hand. Rest will not be enough. You will usually need to undergo physical therapy and may even wear a knee brace to stabilize the knee so the ligament can heal. Recovery time is usually four to six weeks. If other parts of the knee are damaged at the same time and the stability of the knee is further compromised, surgery may be necessary.
• Grade 3 MCL tear (severe): It’s game over when it comes to the medial collateral ligament. The medial collateral ligament is completely torn, potentially resulting in a loose and very unstable knee. Here you can expect a recovery time of more than six weeks. Even longer if surgery is required due to the instability of the knee.

As you can see, Love’s recovery time for a first or second degree sprain would be between three and six weeks. Any type of surgery would extend the time periods mentioned above.

Of course, the need for surgery depends not only on the stability of the knee, but also on how much stress the knee is subjected to. If you use your knee primarily for “The Dougie” on the dance floor, you may be able to wait until the ligament heals and rest other people. In Love’s case, the stability of his knee is going to be quite necessary.

Fortunately, a grade 1 or 2 sprain likely means Love’s knee is still relatively stable. That’s good news for the stability of the Packers’ offense this season. After all, Love is expected to be their new franchise quarterback. And the Packers want to get as much Love as possible.