I tore my meniscus dunking a basketball when I was 25. I saw a prominent sports doctor in San Diego who wanted to do surgery. I couldn’t run but I could bike and lift weights, so I biked until I could run again, no surgery and I could sprint again a month or so after the Dr. recommend the surgery and never looked back. It aches a tiny bit when I spend a lot of time outdoors in cold weather.
Some additional circumstances, I was in extremely good shape and had a habit of serious stretching. My injury might not have been as serious as the OP’s.
