Private ACL Reconstruction Cost in the UK (2026): Prices, Recovery and Options Abroad

Prices vary by hospital, surgeon and graft technique, so get a written quote stating exactly what is included. Poland: our partner hospital's price list (July 2026), converted at €1 = £0.86.

Practice Plus Group publishes £7,049–£7,399 for a self-pay ACL reconstruction, and it is one of the few UK providers to publish an ACL price at all: most quote only after a consultation, because the graft technique changes the figure. Our partner hospital in Poland charges €4,630 (≈ £3,990) for a primary reconstruction.

Whichever route you take, ask for the price in writing with the graft type named, the physiotherapy sessions listed, and what happens if the graft fails.

From NHS guidance on recovering from ACL surgery:

• Hospital: most people go home the same day as the operation. You may be given crutches and a knee brace.
• Physiotherapy: regular sessions for a few months — this is the most important part of the result.
• Follow-up: an appointment about 2 to 3 weeks after the operation.
• Work: usually after 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the job.
• Driving: not until your medical team says you're fit to drive — and tell your insurer.
• Everyday activities: most within a few months.
• Sport: it can take up to a year.

Do use crutches and a brace as instructed, walk around as your physiotherapist advises to reduce the risk of blood clots, ice the knee (wrapped, 15–20 minutes every 2–3 hours) and keep your leg raised when resting.

Don't put a pillow under your knee, sit with your leg held straight, stand for long periods, or get the wound wet.

NHS rehabilitation guidance from Cambridge University Hospitals explains that the earliest most people return to sport is around six months, and that the risk of re-injury is significantly lower when patients wait until about nine months and meet return-to-sport criteria, such as:

• no giving way, or fear of giving way, during sport
• quadriceps and hamstring strength within 10% of the uninjured leg
• hop tests within 10% of the other side
• feeling psychologically ready

That's the practical reason to plan physiotherapy at home before booking surgery anywhere: the operation takes an hour or two, the rehabilitation takes most of a year.

Our partner hospital in Jelenia Góra, south-west Poland, has its own MRI and CT imaging and a rehabilitation department, and operates under EU medical regulation.

• Price: ACL reconstruction €4,630 (≈ £3,990) — around £3,000 less than the UK self-pay prices above.
• Technique: reconstruction using a bone–patellar tendon–bone (BTB) autograft — a graft taken from your own knee; the price is the same whether titanium or bioabsorbable screws are used.
• Included: surgery, anaesthesia and the hospital stay, plus a post-operative consultation and a rehabilitation plan.
• Not included: flights, hotel, and the months of physiotherapy you will do once you are home — budget for those in the UK.

Before you pay, your written plan names the hospital, your surgeon and the price.

Honestly, it depends on your situation more than for a joint replacement:

• In favour: a large price difference, and a short stay — ACL reconstruction is often a same-day or short-stay operation.
• Against: most of the recovery is months of physiotherapy, which has to happen at home. Your UK physiotherapist needs your operation notes and rehabilitation plan, and it helps if they're involved before surgery.
• Plan the trip home: crutches, a brace and a swollen knee on a flight are manageable with airport assistance booked in advance — see our travel guide — and ask your surgeon about blood-clot prevention before you fly.