is opening up about the “very long process” of recovering from her recent knee surgery.
Dobrev, 35, gave a health update to People on Wednesday, August 7, noting that her doctors “were pretty surprised” by how well she’s been doing since her bike accident. “I’m a little ahead of schedule in terms of healing,” she said.
The Vampire Diaries alum explained that her recovery could take “nine months to a year,” and she’s only about a third of the way through that timeframe.
“So there’s still a ways to go,” she continued. “And a lot of times at this point in the healing process, people get re-injured because they feel fine. And so they start doing normal things. So I have to kind of remind myself that I’m still healing and there’s still a little bit of time to go.”
Dobrev revealed in May that she was hospitalized, sharing a photo of herself wearing braces on her neck and knee. One month later, she told her Instagram followers that she had a successful surgery.
“Thank you to everyone who has been sending kind messages, thoughts, prayers, and good vibes. I have been feeling the support and positive energy. It means more than you will ever know,” she wrote at the time.
During an episode of The Talk later that month, Dobrev shared more insight into the extent of her injuries. “I can’t really walk on my own yet. I had a fractured knee as well as ACL repair and meniscus,” she said, adding that the talk show appearance was her “first time leaving the house in two months” after the accident.
Dobrev joked that her first experience riding a dirt bike “did not go well,” saying, “I don’t recommend it, guys. It’s OK, I learned a lesson: don’t ever get on a dirt bike.”
In the moments leading up to her injury, Dobrev “lost control” of the bike, which “flew” out from under her. “Luckily it didn’t fall on me, which is what the doctor said would have been a lot worse,” she recalled. “But when I landed, I landed on one leg, straight, and my knee just, like, snapped.”
While she’s still taking it easy for the most part, Dobrev has been seen out and about as her recovery continues. She and her boyfriend, , traveled to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, taking in events from fencing to skateboarding. Having an Olympian by her side for the experience was a big help for Dobrev.
“I’d never been before, so I had no idea how much walking there is,” she told People. “All those streets are closed, so you have to walk from venue to venue and do all these things. And so he prearranged to have a wheelchair there so that I wouldn’t have to walk as much. We had my canes and he was there by my side taking care of me the whole time.”
Last month, Dobrev wrote about her biggest takeaways from her injury in a lengthy Instagram post. “I’m learning that community is so important,” she revealed. “We can’t do everything all alone. … I’m trying to be kinder to myself, to remind myself that this is temporary and it will get better. Since I started walking & traveling a bit I’ve been feeling much more positive, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel💫.”
