One of the worst moments of the New England Patriots’ 38-31 win over the Chicago Bears yesterday was running back Sony Michel staying on the ground after a tackle early in the second quarter. The first-round rookie, who lost the football in the process of going to the ground, got his leg twisted awkwardly and afterwards had to be assisted off the field and later carted to the locker room.
New England quickly announced that he would not return to the field and that he had suffered a knee injury. The extent of the ailment has yet to be determined which will likely happen later on Monday: Michel is scheduled to undergo an MRI scan today to find out how badly his knee is hurt. While nothing is off the table, early reports coming out of Foxboro appear to be cautiously optimistic.
First, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on air that he heard whispers that the injury was “maybe not quite as bad as it looked.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter followed this report with one of his own:
Text from last night on Patriots’ RB Sony Michel and his injured knee: “Expect it will be a little bit but not overly serious. Won’t know til they look at it Monday.”
The reports come after former NFL team doctor David J. Chao tweeted that he also does not expect the injury to be season-ending:
Cannot make a clear conclusion off limited video on #SonyMichel. Not ACL. Not expecting a season ending injury. Worry for meniscus tear on his already degenerative left knee.
A report by NBC Boston’s Tom Curran seems to confirm Chao’s analysis:
With Sony Michel, the expectation is that it’s at least an MCL injury. If it’s that or less, that would be a relief.
A noted above, the MRI will confirm the severity of the injury and by extent the time Michel might miss because of it. If the early reports – they are likely based on the initial testing that took place yesterday – are to be believed, however, Michel and the Patriots could have dodged a bullet: anything but a season-ending injury would be a good result, even if the 22-year old would still miss some time because of the ailment.
[UPDATE] According to Ian Rapoport, the MRI showed a non-serious knee injury. While the timeline is not yet clear, this is good news for the Patriots. For more information, please click here.