Possible Meniscus Tear

Hey there,

So all things considered I am beginner lifter although I have picked up working out on and off over 5 years and done a lot of reading. Starting strength was what I always came back to but would never stick to it. Well recently I have had a lot of changes in my life leading to a more conducive lifestyle to incorporate lifting consistently. I hopped back on to SS and this Happened.
Currently, I am 23 y/o male, 6’ 00”, 200lbs and no previous injuries.
I do not know my 1RM but my working sets as of last workout are as follows.
SQ: 3x5 205lb
BCH: 3x5 140lb (although I could probably lift more)
OHP: 3x5 85lb
DL: 1x5 245lb

My predicament is this:
I was on my second set of Squats which were the first exercise of the day, no warmup. I have been having some small trouble racking weight because wrists had become less flexible after not squatting for a while and the rest rack height is just maybe 2 inches lower than where the bar sits on my back. So I would walk toward the rack and just slightly tiptoe it back on to the rack. The second set I wondered if changing perspective would make it easier, so instead of facing the rack and backing up out of it, I switched direction and walked out of the rack to see if backing back up and laying it back would be easier then tiptoeing it up. Well 2 reps into my second set, half way on the way down I hear a extremely audible pop in my right knee. I immediately thought, “yeah that ain’t right.” Long story short I put the weight back(which was not easier but harder *facepalm*) and my knee is in pain. Now I can normally pop my knees as well as other joints and it can be audible but this was very significant. I went to the doctor and he said it is mostly likely a meniscus tear or damage to the articulating surface of the bone. He told me to give it the weekend to see if it gets better because if it does it’s probably not a meniscus tear, as they do not recover that fast.
Now it has gotten better, as in walking on it is fine and I can flex it and bend it with like 60% range of motion. It is swollen, but it has gone down as the weekend has gone on. The pain is on the right side towards the front where the joint line is and if I Straighten it all the way there is pain on the back left tendon.
So, as I do not currently want to have an MRI if I don’t have to what do you guys think it is? I understand that you can’t necessarily give me a certain answer.
Also, moving forward what does lifting look like from here on out? I would like to give lifting a proper place in my life and get stronger and it seems that people have really benefited their recovery if knee injuries by squatting. I can’t do that now, but what can I do? What does just training upper body look like if that’s an option?
If have read this far thank you. All responses are greatly appreciated.

I do not think you need an MRI now. You just need to start rehabbing it. Stick to sets of 5. Start with very lightweight and gradually progress from there. I would probably stick to squatting 2x/week for now. I just wrote this in another post, but you can do an LP alternating SQ/Press day and a Bench/DL day. If certain ROMs are inaccessible or too painful right now, squat to a box or set the pins in the rack to control the ROM. If the bar is too heavy, just use your BW. Then hold weights in your hand and then progress back to the bar. If weird symptoms that you never had before start to appear let us know. Also NEVER walk out not facing the rack.

Hope this helps!

Yeah right now the pain and swelling are going down a lot. I have a noticeable limp when walking but walking helps loosen my knee up and has, imo, been helping it recover. I can’t really squat even to 90 degrees yet, but I will do what I can. Seems like most of the pain is coming only from rotation on the right side and it is pretty tender to the touch on the joint line. Feels like electricity if I push it.
Thank you so much for the advice!

You're welcome Snazzy, keep us updated on how things go!