Rob Gronkowski returns to Patriots practice after injury scare
By Matt Couden
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski made his first return to practice since a nine-day absence after an apparent injury.
Some good news has arrived for Patriots fans, as tight end Rob Gronkowski was back on the practice field on Wednesday. “Gronk” made his return to practice after a nine-day hiatus. He suffered an injury back on Aug. 15 in a joint team practice with the Chicago Bears.
On Aug. 24, ESPN reported that Gronkowski pulled himself from the practice nine days ago after trying to catch a Tom Brady pass. He walked up and down the sideline on his own for a bit and then met with the team’s athletic trainer. He missed five practices since then.
With another preseason game on Friday, it’s highly unlikely Gronkowski will suit up for that matchup. The team is probably erring on the side of caution as the last thing they’d want to do is gamble with one of their core players during these less meaningful games.
According to Providence Journal, five other players were missing from the latest practice due to injuries. They included Dion Lewis, Sebastian Vollmer, Alan Branch, Jonathan Cooper and Shaq Mason. However, Gronkowski was practicing for the 15 minutes that the media observed. He also stayed on field when several other injured players left to go do rehab work.
On Friday, the Patriots will take on the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. Tom Brady had been expected to start the team’s previous preseason contest against the Bears, but ended up hurting himself. In Brady’s situation, it was a self-inflicted injury with a pair of scissors. The Pats quarterback had tried to pry something from his cleat and sliced his thumb.
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Gronk’s injury had originally been reported as minor. No specific details were given on what he had hurt during that Aug. 15 practice session. Based on his return, it bodes well for the Pats and their quarterbacks. Jimmy Garoppolo will be looking for Gronk as a top option for getting the ball down the field for those first games of the season.