RayClay

That's what a sprained ankle is.

Reports of ligament damage mean the reporter wants to seem like he's saying something. If he didn't have ligament damage, he wouldn't have a sprained ankle.

That is all.

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Jackson 2

Exactly correct. That's what even the slightest ankle sprain is - ligament damage. Naturally, the severity of the sprain is equal to the severity of the ligament damage. That revelation has been treated as if it's some sort of shockingly serious news. A slow media day.

reflexblue

Just trying to stir the pot and get some hits by using Ligament damage. It sounds really bad, much worse than Sprained Ankle

RayClay

When I saw where his foot was in relation to his leg, I immediately diagnosed ligament damage and I'm not even an M.D. I do have a white lab coat, though.

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Jackson 2

I've had a group of guys in white lab coats take me away a couple of times...but only for a few days, or so...

Grizzafted

If we're going to be objective about this, how limited do we think he's going to be? I know there's no way of saying for sure, given we don't know much about how bad it was sprained. But he limped badly off the field, clutched his leg in pain, came back in for a few plays, and then was wearing a boot later that night. Given that he's a guy who plays nearly every offensive snap of the game, and is in on the wedge for kick returns, just how "limited" should we expect 11 days from now? Will he still be able to make cuts, sprint, and block if its a minor high ankle sprain?

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bring 'em on...

ivanvamp

I would think that unless he's at full strength (which is unlikely unless he truly is a cyborg), I would not put him on special teams. Let other guys handle that duty and just have him in for the offense.

PATSNUTme

I posted this on another thread and it is part of a Gronk report on rotoworld.com

All sprains damage the ligament to varying degrees, so it may still be minor. Gronk has two weeks of the finest medical care available, though there's still a good chance he won't be working at full capacity in the Super Bowl. Coach Bill Belichick was predictably unforthcoming when asked about Gronk's condition, offering only, "We'll see how it goes with Rob ... when we get back on the field. It's hard to gauge injuries." Jan 24 - 3:52 PM

Personally, I think that he will be fine forthe SB.

PatsFanSince74

The OP is right. A sprained foot or ankle is defined by some degree of ligament damage. I guess the issue is what kind of ligament damage.

I'm kind of up on the topic since one of my kids badly sprained his foot about ten days ago, rolling over on it while running, pretty much the same as Rob did (without the benefit of a 300 pound guy falling on it at the same time); yes, it was hard to watch. Like Rob in Boston, we're privileged to have access to the best medical care in New York, at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

My son was put in a hard cast for a few days just to be sure he didn't use it (young boys don't necessarily do what the doctor tells them...surprise, surprise) and is now in a walking boot, like Gronkowski's.

As it was explained to us by the orthopods at HSS, there are three "degrees" of foot and ankle sprains, depending on the damage done to the fibers in the ligament.

One is relatively mild and usually just wrapped in an Ace bandage, Two is bad with a lot of pain but not torn and is put in a boot, Three is torn, frequently needing surgery, and is casted or put in a boot.

My son's was a "Two."

After ruling out a break via an old-fashioned X-ray, they can pretty well diagnose a "Three" through visual inspection since a torn ligament not only swells the foot badly but also turns it black and blue. If they think there's a reasonable chance that it's torn, then they will do an MRI to confirm the diagnosis prior to surgery. They put my son on a "Nothing By Mouth" for a couple of hours until they were sure they weren't going to have to operate.

Since the Patriots are so forthcoming with injury information , we really can't know which it is. But, as a layman, I'd be surprised if he tore it. Probably "just" a very bad strain.

My son isn't a world-class athlete (but don't tell him that!), so I wouldn't try to compare the recovery process or time. He won't be able to fully walk on it for another two weeks, or about a month after the event.

Hope that helps.

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It is what it is. It wasn't what it wasn't.

RayClay

No hard feelings, it's a gig.

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