Trinity Bell, who signed with Tennessee during 2021’s early signing period in December, suffered a right knee injury two weeks ago while playing in a high school basketball game.

The Volunteer signee confirmed to Volquest it’s a torn anterior cruciate ligament and that he underwent surgery Thursday to repair the problem.

The Albertville, Ala. native was already in therapy come Friday afternoon.

“I was going up for a rebound and just landed completely wrong,” Bell remembered. “Ever since the injury, it’s never really hurt. When the doctor told me it was torn, I was kind of shocked.”

Initially, the tight end feared the worst.

“When I was laying there on the ground, all I could think about was, ‘Yep. I’m not going to Tennessee anymore,” Bell said. “It felt like my leg was broken in half. Obviously, there’s some relief now knowing it was just an ACL.”

The timeline for recovery is estimated for around 6-to-8 months.

Thursday’s surgery lasted about an hour and kept the three-star off his feet for the rest of the day. Bell had an MRI done the day after the injury occurred, found out it was a torn ACL four days later and then scheduled surgery for this past Thursday.

Devasted by the injury that ended his final high school basketball season and put him behind the eight ball entering his freshman campaign, Bell is choosing to stay motivated.

“I’ll be rehabbing like crazy. I’ve also been talking to a lot of people who have come back from injuries like this in the past,” Bell said. “All the accounts I’ve heard say they got back to where they were or even better. Some of them said they came out even stronger.

“I’m motivated. I’ll get back and fight for my position. I’ll do whatever I can to get my opportunity.”

Every athlete recovers at a different pace with these types of knee injuries. Adrian Peterson was back quickly and stronger than ever. Others, such as Teddy Bridgewater, experience a prolonged journey back to the playing field.

Still, Bell has no regrets about playing basketball – which was his first love.

“I can still pick up a basketball in the future and go play whenever,” the Tennessee signee said. “I don’t regret anything.

“[Director of Sports Medicine] Jeronimo [Boche] has already been sending me stretches to do and the coaches said they’ll fix me up and I’ll be good to go.”

Bell still plans to arrive on campus in June to begin summer classes. He’ll continue his rehab with the Tennessee training staff at that point.

The Albertville standout signed with Tennessee on December 16. The three-star stands in at 6-foot-7, 250 pounds and will eventually contend for snaps at tight end. Bell is still raw to the game, picking the sport back up as a junior in 2019 after drawing initial college interest as a hoops prospect.

Down the road, Bell could also get a look on the defensive side of the football.