The most likely reason the Drs won't give you a definitive answer is because they don't know! the timespan for full recovery of a fracture like this depends on a number of factors:

  • The area receives a poor blood supply so fractures are more prone to delayed union or other union problems. Even when all things are going ok this region does take longer to heal.
  • the alignment of the bone ends - judging from the xray you have show this looks good - but the orthopaedic surgeon is the best to know.
  • The amount of soft tissue and articular damage caused at the time of the dislocation. The ligaments could be extensively damaged. For example, the tibiofibular interosseus ligament may have been sprained amongst others. It is also possible that the articular surfaces of the ankle joint may have been damaged. these problems can take much longer to heal up.


By 12 weeks you should have a well united fracture and be able to weight bear fully on the joint. there may sill be residual stiffness of the joint and problems with the ligaments. But this is just an educated guess.