We are a third of the season in and the injuries are piling up. The depth chart is being stressed by the injuries but we should be ok against a struggling Patriots team. The big injuries last week were Josh’s shoulder, Damien Harris’s head/neck, Ed Oliver’s toe, and Quintin Morris’s ankle. So let’s get started
Josh Allen got a shoulder injury when he landed heavily on his right side. There was a collective gasp as he came off the field to the injury tent. Two plays later we all breathed better as he returned to the field but after the game we got notice that he had X-rays to further evaluate the injury. It would appear to be most likely just soft tissue injury or a grade 1 AC sprain. Neither of these should keep him from playing this week. With some current therapy and some anti inflammatory medication he should be fine.
Damien Harris had a scary injury right after Josh. He was running for the first down and got his head and neck hit with a hyperextension of the neck. He was immobilized on the field and left in the ambulance. Reports after the game was that he had movement and feeling in his extremities and was eventually discharged from the hospital the next day. He has not practiced and was placed on IR today. This would suggest a significant neck sprain or possibly a disk injury. This type of injury is frequently associated with a concussion syndrome also. The sprain usually takes 4-8 weeks of recovery time to heal and become pain free and restore mobility. If there is a disk injury there is a possibility of needing surgery which would keep him out for much longer.
Ed Oliver developed a “toe injury “ during the game and has been out of practice for the week. This would suggest an injury like Turf toe. This is a painful injury caused by hyperextending the big toe of a foot repeatedly or by a more severe extension of the toe that damages the ligaments holding the toe to the bone of the foot. Mild injuries are treated by rest anti inflammatory medication. The most severe form of turf toe injury can sometimes keep a player out for an extended time or even require a surgery. Stay tuned for updates on when he returns to action but don’t be surprised if it’s 2-3 weeks before he is ready.
Quintin Morris got his ankle injured after his touchdown reception when Dawson Knox jumped on him in the end zone. It appeared to be most likely a low ankle sprain so I suspect he’ll be back in a week or two. The question will be does he have residual symptoms that slow him down for longer. The good news is Dalton Kincaid is out of concussion protocol and has been unrestricted in practice this week.
Since I missed some time I will get you caught up on the injuries to Matt Milano and Daquan Jones. Jones Suffered a significant pectoral muscle tear and was to have a surgical repair. Depending on the severity of the injury as either a partial tear or complete tear the surgery and recovery time change. With a partial tear it’s possible that he will return to play in 6-8 weeks Which would mean that he could be back for the playoffs. A more significant injury may require a longer recovery and then he won’t be back until next year. The good news is that most players can return to pre injury form.
The unknown extent of Matt Milan’s injury is bothersome. After initial reports of a knee injury and Fractured requiring surgery no further information has been released. The fact that they have not said he has an ACL injury is somewhat encouraging. The type of injury which was a contact injury suggests that he may have torn his MCL and had a tibial plateau fracture. With a prompt surgery and aggressive rehabilitation of this type of injury he has a potential to be back in 10-12 weeks. That is an optimistic outlook but I am a Bills fan. At some point I hope we will get a better understanding of what his injury actually is.
The rest of the team is in pretty good shape with normal nicks and dings and should be good to go for Sunday. Let me know if you want me to go into detail on any specific injury and I will do a follow up. Stay positive and as always Go Bills.
Dr. Bruce
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