Good news out of Oklahoma was reported on Tuesday after the Oklahoman reported that Wes Welker's recovery seems to be going well, and the Patriots star receiver is feeling optimistic about his return for the 2010 season.
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The last time Welker was on the football field was as an honorary captain (pictured right) before the Patriots playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Since then he's also had to have surgery on an injured shoulder, and has been working out and just trying to rehabiliate his knee. Some progress has been made however, as he's reportedly started jogging again and has already been throwing with quarterback Tom Brady.
Needless to say so far, so good, and Welker to this point sounds pretty upbeat.
"Every day," Welker told the newspaper, "is looking a little bit brighter."
All reports so far seem to believe that he won't be ready to start the 2010 campaign. As we all know Brady suffered a devastating knee injury of his own before coming back last year, but the circumstances were different.
Brady is a quarterback, and was injured in the first game of the season.
Welker is a wide receiver, and was hurt during the final regular season game.
Needless to say Brady had almost five additional months to work his way back, and obviously doesn't rely on his legs quite the way that Welker does. Quick cuts and bursts have been the lifeblood of the elusive receiver, and he's now trying to do what Brady did in significantly less time.
Will he do it? Welker wouldn't say.
"It's so early right now, it's hard to put any sort of timetable on it," he said. "My main deal is just working hard and putting myself in the best position possible to be ready whenever I'm ready. No telling when that's going to be or how long it's going to take, but all I can do is just work hard."
Whenever he's ready, fans obviously know how important he is to this football team. He's made over 100 catches in his three seasons in New England, and has been a favorite of Brady's during that time. It's been the veteran's work ethic that has won over his teammates as well as the rest of Patriot Nation. Hopefully his offseason continues to go well, and we'll have to wait until training camp comes to find out when/if he'll be ready for the beginning of the season.
"I'm happy about where we are," said Welker. "Hopefully, we can just continue to have positive days and keep moving forward."
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