The Training Room: Week 10 Injury Updates
It was a quieter week in the training room as many players who came out for an injury ended up returning and not missing any time. There were some important fantasy players that suffered injuries that could impact your team over the next few weeks, so let’s take a look at their injuries in addition to some players close to returning.
On The Mend
Calvin Johnson (High Ankle Sprain): All signs point to Megatron suiting up Week 10 after resting the past few weeks to get his ankle healthier. The decision to rest his ankle will do him some good, as he’ll be well rested with the ability to fully cut and plant off that ankle without restrictions.
Pierre Thomas (Sprained Shoulder): There haven’t been many updates on Thomas’ shoulder since before the Thursday night game. Consider him day-to-day in hopes he can suit up and get some limited practices in to be on track for this week’s game against the Niners. Because he is more of a passing down running back, the Saints could ease Thomas back in similar to how they used Jimmy Graham when he recovered from his shoulder issue a few weeks back.
Fred Jackson (Groin Strain): There’s a good chance Jackson will miss another week and be ready for Week 11 against the Dolphins. I wouldn’t rule him out completely, but groin strains do have a tendency to linger when attempting to ramp up activity. Check back to see if he’s practicing in any limited fashion this week. If he does suit up, he’ll likely be limited in hope they don’t re-aggravate his symptoms.
Montee Ball (Groin Strain): Ball has been out since Week 5, with no real indication that he is getting close to returning. Still consider him week-to-week for now with no real restrictions when he does eventually return, he likely wont have a starting job to return back to.
Rashad Jennings (Sprained MCL): Jennings just started running last week, and has yet to resume any cutting or lateral agility work. If you look at Ryan Mathews, who is set to return after the Chargers Week 10 bye, it took him much longer than anticipated to recover from his MCL sprain (It'll be 9 weeks since he was on field). If Jennings does start to initiate cutting and lateral movements at some point this week, there's still a slim chance that he's ready for Week 10. Week 11 is sounding more realistic for Jennings, but then again nothing is guaranteed. He'll remain week-to-week until we see him being able to tolerate more activity. Andre Williams has underwhlemed in his absence, so Jennings isn't in danger of losing any snaps when he finally gets healthy.
Kyle Rudolph (Sports Hernia Repair): Vikings are on bye this week, but Rudolph has made every indication that he plans to play Week 11. TE’s have produced big in Norv Turner’s offensive schemes. He’d be a good guy to target for teams that need TE help.
Ryan Mathews (Sprained MCL): The Chargers are on bye this week, so it’ll give Mathews another week to get his leg as stable as possible before returning. He’ll be back Week 11 with no restrictions moving forward. You just hope he can stay somewhat healthy the rest of the day.
Training Room Week 10
Nick Foles
Broken Collarbone: Your clavicle (also known as your collarbone) is the main bone that connects your shoulder girdle to your sternum. The main job of your collarbone is to help with shoulder and upper arm movement as well as being a main site for many muscular attachments. Direct trauma to the clavicle from a fall or by being driven to the ground can cause excessive force that the bone can’t handle, which can lead to a fracture. Foles was tackled onto his left shoulder in the 2nd quarter and did not return.
Bottom Line: Aaron Rodgers suffered the same injury last year and it ended up costing him 7 weeks. Normal timetable for recovery falls in between 6-8 weeks, but the fact that there are talks about Mark Sanchez being the starting QB even into the playoffs could be telling to how much pain Foles is dealing with and the significance of the fracture location. Depending on where the fracture occurred, if it was closer to the end of the clavicle, there could be more ligamentous involvement that could delay recovery and be another source of pain. Those who had Foles as their starting QB would be wise to pick up Mark Sanchez on the waiver wire this week. It goes without saying that Foles is dropable.
Arian Foster
Strained Groin: The adductors are the muscles on the inside of your thigh known as your groin. Sprinting, cutting, and twisting motions can cause the muscle/tendon junction to fail causing pain in that region. Higher grade strains of the adductor muscles can lead to partial tearing of the muscle off the bone, either where the muscle originates on the pelvis, or where they insert into the lower leg. Foster suffered the injury in the 3rd quarter and did not return.
Bottom Line: It’s not uncommon for someone who has had a history of chronic hamstring strains to also deal with groin issues, as the inner hamstring and the groin are very close in proximity. It’ll help that the Texans are on bye this upcoming week, which gives Foster an extra week to get treatment with minimal irritation. However, Foster and his multiple lower leg soft tissue injuries are always difficult to project. We probably won’t hear much about the condition of his groin this week, so consider him day-to-day until more information is passed along.
Michael Vick
Bruised/Strained Foot: Direct trauma to the foot can irritate the many tendons, ligaments, and muscles that allow the foot to function properly. Vick had his foot stepped on during the game but foot issue was not reported until after the game. Vick did come out of the game briefly to be checked for a concussion, but was cleared and returned after one series.
Bottom Line: A foot injury is not a good injury for a quarterback who relies heavily on his legs to create opportunities. It could just be a bruise, or it could be a sprain, regardless, Vick has been known to be on the slower side of healing in his career. Consider him day-to-day for now, with hope he can give it a go later in the week to help build on the chemistry he’s developed with Percy Harvin and Eric Decker.
Lamar Miller
Sprained AC Joint: Direct trauma to the acromioclavicular (AC) joint cause disruption of the ligaments around the area that help support it. Normally an AC joint sprain is caused when falling directly on the shoulder. Miller left in the 3rd quarter and did not return.
Bottom Line: Miller’s original diagnosis of a stinger didn’t make sense as stingers usually don’t require MRI’s. MRI results showed an AC sprain, but no specifics of severity were given. AC sprains are pretty painful shoulder conditions, and considering the fact that Miller is a running back, he’ll get a lot more contact to the shoulder which puts him at a higher risk for re-injury. He'll be day-to-day for now, with the Dolphins seemingly not too concerned about his availability for this week yet.
Wes Welker
Low Back Injury: Spinal pain can be experienced when going into extreme ranges of motion, particularly when being tackled. There are many structures in the low back that can generate pain, and being forced into a certain position can cause irritation and inflammation which can cause further discomfort.
Bottom Line: Welker’s lower back hyperextended as he was hit from behind by a defender running at full speed toward him. Welker will be day-to-day in hopes of getting some treatment to help reduce the pain to allow return of normal movement without pain. Welker continues to show decline and less usage in the Denver offense, so he’ll be a risky play even if he does return this week.
