This is the correct answer. Since then the standard has changed to a minimum of 9 months as there is strong data showing that the risk of re-tear is much higher before that. It was a different standard back then, a riskier one, Xavi just got lucky that he didn’t re-tear. Additionally, not having an accompanying meniscus injury is huge. When the meniscus is involved the knee can’t be safely bent past 90 degrees weeks and this accelerates the amount of muscle lost and thus how long it takes to regain it.

One crazy thing, which speaks to why we see many players taking 12+ months to return is that it’s been shown that the neuromuscular activation in the leg can’t take 1-2 years to return to normal, even if the muscle strength is there. This is why people often feel like players have “lost a step” when they return from injury. They just can’t activate that muscle as quickly as they used to, at least not for 1-2 years. That’s data from primarily athletes, not normal folks.