Wirth W, Eckstein F, Culvenor AG, et al. - This study was undertaken to correlate the five-year change in femorotibial cartilage thickness in 121 young, active adults with an acute anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear randomized to a strategy of structured rehabilitation plus early ACL reconstruction (ACLR) or structured rehabilitation plus optional delayed ACLR. Researchers randomized 62 patients to early ACLR, 59 to optional delayed ACLR. They conducted an exploratory as-treated comparison additionally. For the injured ACL, choice of treatment strategy did not modify the magnitude of 5-year change in overall femorotibial cartilage thickness in young active adults with acute ACL-injury.