Will Rob Gronkowski Ever Be the Same?
In a sport like the football, injuries are inevitable, with the smallest of measurements between a minor pain and a season-ending catastrophe. Injuries have slowed, and even ended, the careers of more than one player, and sometimes great players, or players who could become great. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is hoping to avoid adding his name to that list.
In 2011, "Gronk" recorded 90 receptions for over 1,300 yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns (He also had one carry for two yards and another TD). He was elected to the Pro Bowl and was a first-team All Pro as well, and seemed to be on the verge of extended greatness. He began the 2012 season strongly as well, but was beset by a broken forearm and missed five games, returning at the end of the year. Unfortunately, he re-injured the arm in a playoff game and needed another surgery to repair it. That's when the major problems began. An infection set up in his arm and he had to undergo another procedure to clean it up. A fourth procedure on the arm was done to remove some of the metal hardware from the earlier surgery. While the infection appears to be cleared, there is still a risk of it returning, and furthermore, it's possible that the break will heal more slowly than Gronkowski would like, mitigating his chances of being ready for the coming season.
Adding to his woes, it's being reported that Gronkowski will have surgery on his spine sometime in the month of June. There were worries about his back leading up to the draft after he missed his final year with a back injury. The current pain is apparently in a different spot from the previous back woes, but could still be related. Back and hip problems might have been an issue during the 2012 season, as he appeared to be somewhat slowed even before the arm injury. It is likely a worry in the organization that this will become a chronic issue that follows Gronk for the rest of his career.
With the recovery from the arm issues, it was unlikely that Gronkowski would be ready for training camp in July, and with the back surgery, it's almost a certainty that he won't. It remains a question whether or not he'll even be ready for the start of the season. This would be disappointing for Patriots fans, but for the long-term, might be the best bet. He will want to be very careful to ensure he's at 100% before returning to the field so that he doesn't re-injure either the arm or the back. So, for now, the questions linger about Gronkowski's ability to get to, and remain, at 100%, especially if the back issue continues to pop up. He has proven he can be one of the more dominating players in the league when healthy, but after a long, surgery-riddled offseason, one has to wonder if he might be on the verge of joining the list of players who had their careers interrupted by injury. It would be a shame, because Gronk is one of the most engrossing personalities in the NFL. Hopefully, he gets back into his 2011 form quickly, but there is a chance that in a few years we'll look back and wonder what might have been.
In 2011, "Gronk" recorded 90 receptions for over 1,300 yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns (He also had one carry for two yards and another TD). He was elected to the Pro Bowl and was a first-team All Pro as well, and seemed to be on the verge of extended greatness. He began the 2012 season strongly as well, but was beset by a broken forearm and missed five games, returning at the end of the year. Unfortunately, he re-injured the arm in a playoff game and needed another surgery to repair it. That's when the major problems began. An infection set up in his arm and he had to undergo another procedure to clean it up. A fourth procedure on the arm was done to remove some of the metal hardware from the earlier surgery. While the infection appears to be cleared, there is still a risk of it returning, and furthermore, it's possible that the break will heal more slowly than Gronkowski would like, mitigating his chances of being ready for the coming season.
Adding to his woes, it's being reported that Gronkowski will have surgery on his spine sometime in the month of June. There were worries about his back leading up to the draft after he missed his final year with a back injury. The current pain is apparently in a different spot from the previous back woes, but could still be related. Back and hip problems might have been an issue during the 2012 season, as he appeared to be somewhat slowed even before the arm injury. It is likely a worry in the organization that this will become a chronic issue that follows Gronk for the rest of his career.
With the recovery from the arm issues, it was unlikely that Gronkowski would be ready for training camp in July, and with the back surgery, it's almost a certainty that he won't. It remains a question whether or not he'll even be ready for the start of the season. This would be disappointing for Patriots fans, but for the long-term, might be the best bet. He will want to be very careful to ensure he's at 100% before returning to the field so that he doesn't re-injure either the arm or the back. So, for now, the questions linger about Gronkowski's ability to get to, and remain, at 100%, especially if the back issue continues to pop up. He has proven he can be one of the more dominating players in the league when healthy, but after a long, surgery-riddled offseason, one has to wonder if he might be on the verge of joining the list of players who had their careers interrupted by injury. It would be a shame, because Gronk is one of the most engrossing personalities in the NFL. Hopefully, he gets back into his 2011 form quickly, but there is a chance that in a few years we'll look back and wonder what might have been.
Comments
Post a Comment