Anyone ever experienced this injury and trained again? Treated conservatively (as is standard in the UK) without surgery.
As a side note I got bilateral pulmonary embolisms after being in the leg cast and have just come off 3 months warfarin. I was worried it might have been for life but Haemologist is happy thankfully. Have had better years. 
Forum member Jason Scully blew his out recently and is on the road to recovery, back training. Hopefully he chimes in.
I always thought that sounded like the worst injury ever. It just sounds painful.
Certainly wasn't pleasant. It would swell pretty badly anytime it was upright. Had to keep elevated for a month, non-weight bearing for 8 weeks and then an Aircast boot with decreasing heel lifts. Walking fine now but cautious!
I ruptured my r. Achilles in 2010. Took an honest 3-4yrs before the "flair-ups" passed or reduced enough to where it didn't interrupt not just training but regular life.
I had the most problems when I didn't stretch it for a solid 10min before any physical activity. Also, body weight squats have made a huge difference in recovery, or lack of "flair-ups". They seem to help build-up all the supporting muscles(just my personal, uneducated theory). I started them due to a knee injury and noticed that my Achilles issues had been greatly alleviated as well.
Also, make sure that you're cleared to again rejoin a grappling class & have a surgeon/doctor that is familiar with sports recoveries. I partially ruptured mine again by returning too soon(about 4-5 months). I also avoided Judo practice & mainly worked off my back for about a year as any quick transition utilizing my right foot being based on the mat had a high probability of putting me out for at least a couple days to a week.
Sorry for the jumbled response, I'm at work and can only get in a partial thought at a time here without having to actually do my job :)
Thanks for the feedback. Very useful!
Saw one in class once..."non contact injury" but boy did it make a noise.
He opted for surgery (fully reptured) but came in to roll a couple times with the boot on beforehand. He figured "can't mess it up any worse...and besides, they're going to fix it next week anyways."
He's a beast :)