Thursday, January 31, 2013
Gronk's recovery
By Tim Kavanagh
The New England Patriots may have brought TE Rob Gronkowski back a little too quick from his first forearm break this season, as he went on to sustain another break in the divisional playoff round against the Houston Texans, but that's how it goes sometimes. In any event, the ensuing question on him is whether he'll be ready to play by the time the preseason rolls around.
During an appearance on "SportsCenter" on Thursday, the TE admitted that it was a frustrating injury, but that it was "just a freak accident. Can't really do anything about it." And as for his recovery timetable, he confirms that he's got plenty of time to get ready for the start of the preseason program.
"We have like 25 weeks or something before the start of camp," Gronkowski observed. "Just taking my time, rehab, get it stronger, do everything I need to do. Work my muscles, start lifting again when I can do everything. Basically, just taking my time, get 100 percent and I'll be ready for next year for sure."
The Pats went through an almost absurd number of TEs last season, and as it turned out, they needed all the help, since both Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez missed significant time due to injury. They'll hope to avoid a similar occurrence in 2013, though they will have Jake Ballard back in the mix, as the former Giant spent 2012 on IR.
