ACLs in the AFL: timelines for recovery changing?

I had a bit of a spray on Twitter yesterday about the recent spate of stories on AFL web sites talking up the prospects of players returning “early” after ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injuries. The traditional ACL reconstruction process requires 12 months to minimise the risk of recurrence of the injury – or the ACL on the opposite knee going. As I was told, every body is different and supreme athletes like Adrian Peterson can buck the odds to come back months earlier – but there are a number of AFL footballers who did not use the LARS procedure to speed up their recovery who are being talked about as coming back even quicker than AP. It seems weird to me.