Injury update on San Diego Chargers’ Manti Te’o
By Jason Marcum
The San Diego Chargers ruled out rookie linebacker Manti Te’o prior to Monday’s opener against the Houston Texans because of a right foot injury, causing his much-anticipated debut to be delayed for at least one week.
Te’o, a Heisman Trophy finalist whose stellar senior year at Notre Dame ended with an embarrassing Catfishing” scandal, originally injured the foot in the August 8 preseason opener, and hasn’t been on a football field much since then. Te’o was the No. 38 overall pick of April’s draft, and earned the start at inside linebacker for the Chargers but recorded no tackles in two series of action in the preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks before being injnured.
He hasn’t practiced since then and has been wearing a walking boot. Chargers Head Coach Mike McCoy initially described the injury as a sprain, and didn’t provide much of an update today:
Mike McCoy says there's nothing new on Manti Te'o (foot). Adds the rookie LB is not a candidate for injured reserve.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 10, 2013
Te’o’s biggest goal right now is working himself into game shape, and a return in Week 2 or Week 3 is possible.