Patriots Injury Watch: Week 9

Here are some injury situations to monitor following the Patriots week nine loss to the New York Giants:

Brandon Spikes, LB: This is the key injury to watch. Spikes' high level of play over the course of the last several weeks has been one of the reasons the Patriots defense has been able to keep it together. Yesterday, Spikes blew up several run plays, had a bone crushing hit on the Giants' Jake Ballard, and continued to be the emotional leader for the Patriots defense.  However, on a red zone third down in the third quarter, Spikes went down awkwardly on his knee breaking up a pass with Kyle Arrington.  Spikes left the game, was getting checked up on the sideline, and eventually went to the locker room and did not return. If Spikes' injury is serious, then the Patriots could be in a lot more trouble on the defensive side of the ball.

Gary Guyton, LB: Linebacker Gary Guyton came in to replace Brandon Spikes late in the second half yesterday and also suffered an arm/shoulder injury.  If Spikes' injury is serious, it will be even more critical to the Patriots that Guyton be healthy.

Josh Barrett, S: After finally returning to action following a lengthy recovery from a thumb injury, safety Josh Barrett went down with a leg injury on the final defensive drive of the game.

Wes Welker, WR: After taking a hard hit from Giants' linebacker Michael Boley late in the second quarter yesterday, it seemed that Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker may have suffered a serious injury, possibly in the neck area (he was listed as questionable with a neck injury due to a Troy Polamalu uncalled facemask the week before).  Welker somehow ended up returning the next play, but if it was his neck that was tweaked, this could be an area to watch over the coming weeks.

Patrick Chung, S: Chung appeared to suffer an ankle injury on the final drive, but quickly returned to the game so it doesn't seem like anything to notable here... except for the fact that back-up Sergio Brown essentially gave up the game winning penalty for the Giants when Chung was out.