Patients will be invited to take part in the study in one of 2 ways. Firstly, by their surgeon when they are initially listed for ACL reconstruction surgery at their out-patient consultation at the RD+E Hospital orthopaedic department. Alternatively, if they are identified from the current surgical waiting list as suitable for inclusion. In this latter case, they will be contacted by letter by their surgeon asking for permission for one of the research team to contact them to discuss the study. All participants will be sent a copy of the patient information leaflet. At their preparation for surgery appointment- usually 2-4 weeks before their operation, they will meet one of the research team who can answer any questions about the study. A study consent form will be signed at this meeting if the patient is willing to be involved in the research Patients who agree to enter the trial will be divided at random to enter the different treatment arms of the study. The randomization schedule will be determined using an on-line random assignment sequence generator (www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/randomize1.cfm) and will be kept and controlled by the study co-ordinator, and the surgeons will not have access to this schedule. The randomisation details for each patient will be written on to a slip of paper and placed inside an opaque envelope. Each envelope is attributed to one patient and given a study number. One of the research team (study coordinator or research nurse) will supply the operating theatre staff with one of the envelopes containing the slip of paper upon which will be written the randomisation allocation for the patient undergoing surgery at that time. The operating theatre staff will inform the surgeon of the allocation. 150 patients will be initially included with allocation to either arm of the trial. The operating surgeon will not be able to read the slips before the envelope is opened, nor will they perform the randomisation which will be carried out by one of the investigators not carrying out the surgery on the individual patients i.e. the operating surgeon takes no part in the randomisation process.