Finally, something to worry about

[JAFF]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...22/7474172001/


L eonard’s surgery last June, described as minor at the time, was intended to clean up the ankle and get the linebacker to full strength before the start of the 2021 season, but it cost him the first two weeks of training camp, lingered into the regular season and remained a problem throughout, although it did get better as the season progressed.

Leonard played through the pain, adjusted his style of play to account for the ankle and played career highs of 16 regular season games and 91.8 percent of the snaps.


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But he acknowledged this spring that the ankle is still an issue.

“It’s attached, it’s there,” Leonard said. “It feels a whole lot better than what it did, coming from the end of the season. A lot of time to rest, trying to make it stronger. I feel better coming into this season than I did last year, I can say that.”

Leonard and the Colts have both said it isn’t fully healed.

“Sometimes when you’re going through something and you hit a lull, you can’t get over a hump, you’ve got to stop and pause and say ‘Why aren’t we getting over this hump?’” Reich said. “That’s a little bit of what it is with Darius.”


And while Indianapolis is evaluating the injury, the Colts would rather keep Leonard off the field.

“You never know,” Reich said. “That’s exactly why we’re trying to be cautious with him.”

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

And today we learn that Leonard also has a back issue.


https://twitter.com/zkeefer/status/1534235724433825792

Update from the Colts on star LB Darius Leonard:

No second surgery on his ankle, but he has been having back issues that require surgery.

Operation is today.

He’ll miss some camp time but the team’s expectation is he’s ready for the regular season.

[ChaosTheory]

Damn. So the ankle was preventing them from getting a clearer read on the back issue. I guess there's no word about the location of the surgery or what exactly the issue is?

Also, makes the original statements about the ankle seem cryptic. Got to love the vagueness of the NFL.

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

Damn. So the ankle was preventing them from getting a clearer read on the back issue. I guess there's no word about the location of the surgery or what exactly the issue is?

Also, makes the original statements about the ankle seem cryptic. Got to love the vagueness of the NFL.

I am guessing more details will become available over the next few days.

Teams like to wait a while after the season ends to see if injuries / issues heal up or feel better on their own after some rest.

Obviously Darius and the Colts talked about both the back and the ankle during yesterday's physical and thought surgery was the best course of action for the back.