Cleveland Browns RB Montario Hardesty to undergo left knee scope

Oct 14, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Montario Hardesty (20) celebrates a run in the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

The hits just keep coming for the Cleveland Browns, who have already lost running back Dion Lewis for probably the entire season, and have now lost Motario Hardesty as well:

"The bad news was that he’ll undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Thursday, and a source told cleveland.com that he’ll miss the first two to three regular-season games.It’s the same knee in which Hardesty tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the final preseason game of 2010 and caused him to miss his entire rookie year."

Despite this latest setback, Browns coaches like Hardesty’s running ability and believe he adds enough value to warrant remaining on the roster:

"“You just have to keep coming back and keep fighting and that theme (of dedication) we’ve talked about a lot, it applies everywhere,” said Chudzinski. “He’ll make it back.”"

Hardesty missed most of training camp with a hamstring tendon issue and then dislocated his right thumb in practice on Monday while trying to catch a direct snap from center. Hardesty rushed for 271 yards last season. He missed his entire rookie season in 2010 after tearing his ACL in the final exhibition game.

This isn’t the first time Hardesty has had a significant knee injury. He tore his right ACL his freshman year at Tennessee in 2005, and underwent a left knee scope after that season.

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