Following multiple surgeries on his forearm, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski could miss the 2013 NFL season opener. That news comes on the heels of learning that the hard partying frat boy like athlete has to have the plate in his previously broken left forearm removed to make sure that the infection brought on after the January surgery has been vacated entirely.
The Patriots have not commented publicly on the matter, only to say that they feel that Gronkowski’s recovery is going well.
The Boston Herald reported that Gronkowski is “nearing the end of a six-week cycle of antibiotic treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital, but doctors aren’t certain that the infection has been eliminated.”
The Herald also reported that “Doctors treating Gronkowski will have to go back into the arm again to remove the plate and install a new one, but if they find more infected tissue, they would be unable to install the plate at that time. That would require another surgical procedure after the tissue around the injury is clear of infection and, sources confirmed, that would not give Gronkowski the required 10 weeks healing time to be ready for the season opener in September.”
New England has already seen Wes Welker sign with the Denver Broncos while releasing Brandon Lloyd. They have signed Danny Amednola and were working out some of the top wide receivers in this month’s 2013 NFL Draft, but losing a player of Gronkowski’s caliber for any amount of time will certainly impact the offense. With a team already possibly on the downslide, the window of opportunity to win one more Super Bowl with some of the core players who are still present from the last team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy may be quickly closing.
4 thoughts on “NFL Rumors: Could New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski Miss 2013 NFL Season?”