Avery Neff stood on the floor of the Dumke Center Tuesday afternoon and it was actually a little difficult to tell her apart from her fellow Utah gymnasts.

That’s because Neff was in a leotard, the soft casts that have been on her ankles were absent and she was moving as freely as any other Red Rock.

For a little over two and a half weeks now, Neff had been the most conspicuous of Utah’s gymnasts.

After the star freshman suffered a pair of “severe” ankle sprains during Utah’s meet against Iowa State on Jan. 17, she has been sidelined — out of competition — and seen wearing soft casts on her ankles while frequently using a walker and/or chair during meets.

Not anymore, though.

According to Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf, Neff’s recovery is going well. Better than many may have thought possible with how severe her injuries appeared.

“She is making really good progress,” Dockendorf said. “... I’m not going to put a date on it, but I will tell you she is going to be back pretty soon.”

As to how Neff has made such a quick recovery, Dockendorf noted two things:

  • Neff’s determination/will/discipline
  • Utah’s training and medical staff

“I think the combination of her determination, her discipline with all of the recovery stuff that she needs to do, she is doing 100% of everything she could possibly do,” Dockendorf said. “And then honestly a lot of credit needs to go to our athletic trainer and our medical staff. They are doing everything they can to help her. Spending a lot of extra time doing some of the aqua therapy stuff. All the little things that will give her the opportunity to get back as fast as possible.”

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In what capacity — on what events — Neff will return remains to be seen.

Dockendorf noted that ankle sprains are unique injuries and recovery comes down to the individual. She added, though, that uneven bars is the most likely event for Neff to make her return on. Whenever that return comes.

“With sprained ankles, there isn’t a definite timeline,” Dockendorf said. “It really is up to the individual. Bars would probably be the first event that we would see her back on. And the goal would be to add more events as we progress. But we just don’t know the exact timeline on it all.”

More and more, though, it seems likely that Neff will compete for Utah again this season.

The Utah Red Rocks’ Avery Neff competes on the uneven bars during a gymnastics meet against Utah State University at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. The University of Utah won. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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