Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told the media yesterday that rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba suffered a “slight fracture” of his wrist and could miss the next 3-4 weeks as a result.
Then again, if you’ve ever broken a bone you know that’s a pretty optimistic timeline, as 6-8 weeks is usually the expected recovery time for any break. JSN has access to the best sports medicine on the planet, so his recovery probably won’t take eight weeks. However, 3-4 weeks still sounds far-fetched.
As ProFootballDoc David Chao explained on Twitter last night, a slight fracture is like calling someone slightly pregnant and bones don’t heal in three weeks.
"Slight fracture" like slightly pregnant.
Bone (especially scaphoid) does not heal in 3 weeks. Sure the screw helps but even when returning to play, will need a brace/splint too making it harder to catch. https://t.co/VVyuWkEGOo— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) August 23, 2023
He elaborated more in a video he posted, estimating that the Seahawks may not get JSN back in the lineup until Week 6.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba will have wrist surgery to repair a broken bone in his wrist. How long will he be out? @ProFootballDoc shares why we may not see the #Seahawks WR until week 6!
Full analysis: https://t.co/RnmkBba6wr
Watch: https://t.co/f52OTopPdR pic.twitter.com/9LXH0eLPzM— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) August 23, 2023
Hopefully that’s not the case, but fans should probably not get too hopeful about seeing Smith-Njigba on the field for the season opener. No matter what the real prognosis is, the worst thing they can possibly do is rush him back before he’s ready and then he suffers a more significant injury that might put him out for an extended time.
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