HOW IS LUCA DOING ??

Popular Rider kicker Luca Congi was with Mitchell Blair on 620 CKRM's Sports Cage Monday afternoon. The five-year veteran saw his season come to an end with an horrific knee injury sustained against Calgary in the fall. Mitch caught up to Luca for an update on his recovery:

SCRUFFY: How's your injury doing?

CONGI: The knee's great. I couldn't ask for better progress than now. The surgery's gone really well and the rehab to this point has been really successful as well. Just have to take it one game at a time and things will come together.

SCRUFFY: Will you be ready for training camp 2011?

CONGI: I'm hoping to be. I'm hoping to be ready for the home-opener. That's my goal. It just depends on how rehab goes the next six months. I'll be working my butt off to be ready as soon as I can but in saying that I have to be patient and I can't rush back. This is one of those things where I have to literally take it one day at a time. As long as I can improve strength in my leg and mobility everyday, it'll look very good.

SCRUFFY: How much of a learning experience has this been?

CONGI: I try to look at the good in everything that happens. It's been interesting. I've learned from a lot of people what to do and what NOT to do to be successful. One of the best things is the support I'm received from my coaches, teammates, my family and the fans. That's one of the great things I've experienced throughout this time.

SCRUFFY: There was talk this could be career-ending. What did you think about that?

CONGI: When I heard that, I laughed to myself. This is the 21st century here. The medical field has advanced and this is not 1980 or the 70s. Now when you have an ACL injury you have surgery and then rehab. There's so much knowledge out there now about how to get back. When I heard that, I laughed. That's obviously incorrect. Not to downplay it though, there's a lot of work ahead. But I've overcome a lot of things in high school, college and pro's and this is just another.

SCRUFFY: What's the rehab process like now?

CONGI: I'm with the physiotherapist three days a week in Ontario here. I hit the gym two days a week. Obviously right now I'm not doing crazy lifting but it's the bike and stairclimber and stretching. It's all about progress. I try to do a little bit more everyday. You don't want to re-aggravate it, but you push it.

SCRUFFY: What's a Congi Christmas like?

CONGI: It's nuts! We have a really big dinner on the 24th and it's a lot of Italians so it's very loud with a lot of arguing and a lot of fun. We have a very big and tight family. Usually there's 30 - 35 people at our house Christmas Eve and it's a lot of fun.

SCRUFFY: You got all your shopping done?

CONGI: Oh no. Last-minute Christmas shopping is like a challenge for me. I always wait, so it's all good.

SCRUFFY: Thanks Luca and Merry Christmas!

CONGI: Merry Christmas to everybody in Saskatchewan!!