Familiar Gonzalez report: He's still 'close' to returning
By Mike Chappell
Posted: November 20, 2009
As Anthony Gonzalez has discovered, being "close" to returning from a knee injury isn't close enough.
The Indianapolis Colts receiver insisted Thursday afternoon that he's on track and close to rejoining the offense after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier this month. The procedure was deemed necessary after Gonzalez aggravated an injury to the same knee during the rehabilitation process. He first injured the knee in the season opener.
"I felt like I was close the last time," Gonzalez said. "So in that sense, it's a little hard to say. I do feel the 'scope I had helped a lot. Now it's just a matter of getting a little flexibility back and all my strength back.
"But I think I'm close."
The team's 2007 first-round draft pick stopped short of specifying a return date. He's likely to miss at least another couple of games. When the time comes, Gonzalez expects "to come back better than ever."
Expectations were high as Gonzalez headed into his third season, his first as Marvin Harrison's replacement in the starting lineup. They quickly were dashed when he sprained a ligament in his right knee while making a cut in the first quarter of the opener against Jacksonville.
Dealing with what amounts to a second rehab with the same knee, Gonzalez conceded, has been "very frustrating."
"It's difficult on a lot of levels, certainly more mental than physical," he said. "You get different opinions, you get different treatment programs, you can get a thousand people telling you they can fix you."
