Whitetails can make amazing recoveries. A couple years ago we repeatedly observed a doe with a bad injury to her right foreleg that prevented it from touching the ground. (I wondered if she had been hit by a vehicle.) She had a slow, hobbling gait. I wouldn't let her be harvested, to see what would happen, but anticipated she would be killed easily by coyotes. During the rut I observed her being chased by a buck. And the next Spring saw her with a fawn, right foreleg still held out in front of her, not contacting the ground.