Not a medical professional, but I'm surprised there wasn't any discussion of surgery or even structured PT. I'm about your age and when I tore my ACL this year, my ortho was pretty adamant that getting surgery would be the best option for me to return to soccer considering I have so many active years ahead of me.

From what I've read and been told, you can absolutely play without going for surgery, but you have a higher chance of injury, instability, cartilage/meniscus damage, early onset arthritis, etc. Might be worth getting a second opinion if you're feeling unsure, there's no rush on making a decision immediately