Tyron Smith is set to undergo surgery Friday to reattach his left hamstring to his knee, according to both Todd Archer of ESPN and Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
While an exact timetable for the eight-time Pro Bowler’s rehab will not be determined until after the procedure, the Cowboys are reportedly operating under the assumption that Smith will be able to return to play before the end of the season.
It may well be the very end of the season.
“Multiple months” was the early word on the 31-year-old’s expected absence after he went down during practice Wednesday night with what was later diagnosed as an avulsion fracture of the knee. That means a small chunk of bone attached to the hamstring tendon was pulled away from the bone right at the back of the knee. That injury typically carries a recovery time of at least three to four months.
That would put Smith’s best-case return in December, confirming what was first specified by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on Thursday morning.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was eyeing a timeframe even later than that as he spoke on ESPN’s First Take, which was shot Thursday morning from the outdoor plaza at The Star in Frisco.
“We’ll have him at the right time,” Jones said. “We’ll have him in that San Francisco [playoff] game- or the equivalent of it- that we had last year, and maybe we won’t fall short.”
But, as Smith is a 12-year veteran who has not played a full season since 2015 thanks to a litany of injuries, it must also be considered that the former first-round draft pick may not return to the field at all.
Smith’s surgery will be performed by noted specialist and Cowboys team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dan Cooper, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder.
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