I don't know anything about his situation at all. I was just commenting on the report about "plates" in his back.

There are quite a few ways to injure your spine playing football, and if fractures are involved recovery would take considerable time for recovery.

Disc herniations are relatively common football and injuries (especially squats) but don't always require surgery. If needed and done correctly, full recovery from a microdiscectomy can be as short as a couple months, but that's somewhat dependent on the extent and type of injury.