I had a partial tear before and it healed up just fine. It took a while though. 6 to 8 weeks sounds like a very short time. For me, it was a partial tear in my thumb from playing hockey and it took 6 months to really feel better even though I could play again much sooner.
Basically, if there is something partially torn and partially holding on, enough rest allows the body to reconnect the torn ligament. A full tear requires the torn ligament to be tied up and pinned to the bone so that it will reconnect and heal.
Many times, something can be designed to prevent the injured digit from overextending. Then, it would be possible to numb the area and let him go back out and play during the healing process. The problem is that the extra work is pretty painful after playing once the shot wears off. Basically feels like a setback even if muscularly it isn't.
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Originally Posted by Mattyk
It just depends on the severity of the tear. Unless it's torn significantly or all the way through, rest can heal it.
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