It’s hard not to worry about Patriots running back Sony Michel’s knee

I might be a little paranoid. In fact, I know I am.

But considering the awful luck the Patriots have had with injuries over the last couple of years, I feel like it’s justified. We’ve seen a handful of injuries to Rob Gronkowski throughout this career, and no Patriots injury in recent years was more jaw-dropping than Julian Edelman’s torn ACL in training camp of last season. The only one even comparable is Tom Brady’s torn ACL in the 2008 season opener, which amazingly was 10 freakin’ years ago.

Anyway, next up on the injury list is rookie running back Sony Michel, who has really come to life in the last few games after a somewhat slow start. In the last couple of games, Michel has added a very lively spark to this offense. He’s not the main reason the Patriots have scored at least 38 points in four straight games, but he certainly hasn’t been holding them back.

Last Sunday night against Kansas City, the rookie rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. The week before that, against the Colts, Michel racked up 98 yards on the ground with a touchdown, AND even caught a touchdown pass. And then the week before that, when the formerly first place Miami Dolphins were in town, Michel ran for 112 yards and a touchdown.

The kid has been absolutely on fire lately. I’m not saying he’s going to be the next Marshawn Lynch, but he was a superstar at the University of Georgia and now he’s got “very, very, very good NFL running back” written all over him.

It was a scary moment on Sunday afternoon in Chicago, when Michel got wrapped up and taken to the ground in ugly fashion. Initially it looked like he injured his ankle, but the news quickly came that it was a knee injury, and then I started having flashbacks to Gronkowski in 2013 and Brady in 2008. Knee injuries are absolutely brutal.

More news later came that Michel’s injury is not considered to be serious, and he’s essentially on a week-to-week basis right now. That’s great news, no doubt. But still, it’s hard not to worry. The Patriots might be really good at winning games — which I guess is the most important thing — but they have the absolute worst luck with injuries. If you want my honest opinion, I think it’s nothing short of a miracle that Brady has only been injured once in his 19-year career.

Hopefully, Michel’s knee will heal right up and he’ll be back on the field in no time. But the Patriots injury paranoia inside of me, for some reason, is telling me to brace for the “after further examination, Sony Michel suffered much more severe damage to his knee than it was initially believed, and he will be out for the rest of the season” announcement.

Nah, don’t listen to me. Sony will be just fine.

I hope.