Doctor, physical therapist weigh in on Aaron Rodgers' injury
GREEN BAY (WITI) -- The Green Bay Packers faced a few tough losses during Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears. They lost the game, and also lost star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers said on Tuesday he has suffered a fractured collarbone. At first glance, doctors are optimistic Rodgers could return before the end of the season -- but just how long the injury will take to heal is still unknown.
Just minutes into the game, Rodgers was sacked by Chicago Bears defensive end Shea McClellin. Rodgers landed directly on his left shoulder.
"You could see he was in pain," Dr. William Pennington, an orthopedic surgeon said.
Dr. Pennington says it was a positive sign seeing the limited movement -- and it was imperative that the team's doctors tested Rodgers right away.
"There are structures in the shoulder that are soft tissue structures as well as boney structures. They might get a CT scan to look at the bone more closely and also an MRI scan if they are worried about structures such as the labrum of the shoulder. When the shoulder gets driven down like that, the ball can actually move in the shoulder joint," Dr. Pennington said.
Preliminary reports suggested a fractured collarbone -- something Rodgers confirmed on Tuesday.
"I would guess he would have a small non-displaced fracture somewhere along the clavicle bone. Non-displaced means the bone is not shifted out of place and has a very good healing potential if it's allowed to heal," Dr. Pennington said.
Normally, it takes six to eight weeks for a clavicle to heal, but Dr. Pennington says what is key is that Rodgers doesn't return to the field too soon.
"The big risk would be if he would be hit again -- thrown down to the ground. It`s a weak part of the bone -- certainly, easily a place that would require surgery," Dr. Pennington said.
The injury occurred to Rodgers' non-throwing arm, which physical therapist and athletic trainer Mark Lydecker says could make for a quicker comeback.
"It's nice to know it`s not his throwing shoulder because he can continue to work on that and keep it up to speed while he is rehabbing his current injury," Lydecker said.
Dr. Pennington says he is optimistic Rodgers will heal with full range of motion.
"He should be able to heal this quite uneventfully in time and be the same quarterback we`ve been watching past few years -- same accuracy, same strength and shouldn`t have a problem," Dr. Pennington said.
Dr. Pennington says it is hard to speculate healing time because bones heal at different rates.
Rodgers has echoed that statement, and says he plans to go in for additional testing.