Guest Post, By Spenser Field

In Gronk We Trust, Just Not His Forearm

As a born and bred Patriots fan, when it comes to injuries, the first thing that pops into my head is the majestic creature that is Rob Gronkowski. Playing the position of tight end, Rob has found himself on various injury reports within the past year. Everyone seems to be aware of his multiple forearm surgeries, but in June he added back surgery to his list of operations and injuries that could keep him from playing as well as we all know he can. Most recently, he has added hamstring to his list of injuries.

For all the ladies of New England, this meant that we would not be seeing our go-to eye candy on the field. To start the NFL season, Gronkowski missed six games, and to everyone’s surprise, the injury keeping him from the field wasn’t related to his June 18^th back surgery. The herniated disk surgery recovery would have wrapped up around Week 1. Clearly something more was keeping him out of the lineup.

Unfortunately, Gronkowski’s left forearm is the main issue in his play at this point. There has been some discussion that Gronk’s camp is concerned that the ongoing injury is a result of how Patriots team doctor, Thomas Gill, handled the initial surgery. The initial break happened almost a year ago, on Nov. 18, when the Patriots played the Colts. Instead of letting the bone heal naturally, Gronk and Gill made a joint decision to “speed” up the process by implanting a device in the forearm. Really worked out for you guys, huh???

Because of an infection that had developed after Gronk had rebroken the bone in January, his forearm has been operated on four times in the last ten months. Now, I don’t have a Ph.D, and I am no professional, but since Gronk’s last operation happened about five months ago, I WOULD THINK that it would have healed by now…but here I stand…having only watched Gronk play three times. It is hard to watch Gronk play at this point without flinching every time he hits the ground. With the amount of injuries Gronk has under his belt growing, it is hard to watch him without sending up a little prayer that he gets up and doesn’t start limping.

            Thankfully, Gronk has been playing recently, and Patriots fans hope that he stays strong. The Patriots have a bye week this week before returning to the field to take on the Panthers in Week 11. Me? I hope to see plenty of completions from Brady to Gronk, but seeing him on the field is good enough for me.