my MCL took over a year - about 14 months - to fully heal. that was with no surgery. I took about 2 weeks off after the injury and ran on it pretty much as normal after that. perhaps if I'd rested more it'd have healed faster.
i injured that playing football (the football where you kick the ball, not throw it). i started playing football again recently but now I don't slide into tackles anymore because I'm scared of reinjuring it.
at his level, it was stupid. at my level, I enjoy football, so I play it alongside running and manage the risk.
Manuel Neuer - German goalkeeper, broke his leg whilst skiing, also pretty stupid.