The team issued a statement late Thursday night conceding that the all-pro tight end likely would not return even in the playoffs, though the Patriots wanted to wait until after Friday’s surgery to make such a determination.
“Rob has always been one of our hardest workers and was voted captain for the leadership he provides on our team,” the Patriots wrote in the statement. “We are deeply saddened any time a player is lost to injury. We are committed to assisting Rob throughout his recovery and look forward to his return to playing football for the New England Patriots.”
Two orthopedic surgeons told USA TODAY Sports that a return this season would be extremely difficult for Gronkowski.
“This year, no,” said Dr. Andrew Hecht, the chief of spine surgery for the Mount Sinai Health System in New York and a member of the NFL’s Neck and Spine Committee. “Very unlikely, incredibly unlikely. I would really count on next year.”
The timetable for a return being floated is eight weeks. But Hecht said it typically takes NFL players between 12-16 weeks to return to game action after a disc surgery. The AFC Championship Game is in seven weeks, and the Super Bowl will be played in Houston in nine weeks.
“Even though you’re feeling better, you have to go through the rehab part,” Hecht said.
A player who returned too quickly would be at risk for re-herniation, which would likely require additional surgery. Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt returned to the field six weeks after back surgery earlier this season only to experience a setback that required another procedure. Watt has been on injured reserve since Sept. 28.
Friday’s surgery will be the third on Gronkowski’s back since 2009, when he was at the University of Arizona. He also had a herniated disc repaired in 2013 while with the Patriots.
If the new injury is to a disc that had been repaired previously, his recovery timeline could be extended by several weeks, said Dr. Wellington Hsu, the Clifford C. Raisbeck Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“Ten years ago, you would have gotten a lot of people that would call this a career-ending surgery, but we know a lot more now that make me optimistic that Gronkowski can fulfill a very promising career,” Hsu told USA TODAY Sports. “However, we can’t take that too far. We can’t get him back to the point where he can be able to play in the Super Bowl.”
Article Appeared @http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2016/12/01/rob-gronkowski-back-injury-surgery-return-new-england/94771006/