There is good news out of Mass General Hospital this evening, as Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has successfully undergone surgery on his left forearm. ESPN's Adam Schefter was one of the first to report the successful procedure:
On Rob Gronkowski's surgery, doctors believe the forearm infection is gone, per source. They put the new plates in. Good news for Gronk.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2013
Folks, this is the best possible outcome for Gronkowski, who has now had four surgeries on this forearm. Gronk's doctors believe that the infection in his arm has gone away and they decided to go ahead and insert a new plate to protect it.
Because the infection has subsided, we're talking about a much quicker recovery time; an estimated two and a half month one. If rehab and recovery go well, Gronkowski can still be ready for training camp in August. If the infection had not gone away, doctors would not have been able to insert the new plate and we'd likely be without Gronk for another month, possibly two depending on the extent of the infection
With his forearm surgery now in the books and successful, the attention turns to his back, which has apparently been bothering him. Gronkowski has reportedly been contemplating back surgery, and is set to see a back specialist to get his opinion. Schefter tweeted this out just hours after the first:
Rob Gronkowski plans to see Dr. Watkins in California in about 3-4 weeks to decide on whether to have the back surgery.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2013
Looks like we'll have to wait a little longer to find out if he'll actually need the surgery. But until then, let's just take today's findings as good news. One down, (maybe) one to go.