Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett could be dealing with a rather significant knee injury, per an orthopedic surgeon.
The Los Angeles Rams will be without defensive end Myles Garrett, who is now on IR after undergoing knee surgery to correct a nagging issue. That issue was something known since he arrived in Los Angeles, but it appeared to get worse.
Now, an orthopedic surgeon has posed an issue that would further complicate Garrett's ability to return quickly and points to a bigger underlying injury.
Garrett had been dealing with soreness and swelling in his knee throughout training camp, leading to him missing a lot of practice. Despite the missed time, he returned to practice fully the week leading up to Week 1 in Australia.
The issue is that Garrett looked to be out of sorts during the game. He was on the sideline a lot due to looking gassed.
Now, his lack of impact during the game makes more sense given that his knee was nowhere near 100 percent. Garrett himself said that was the case during media availability following the game.
Shortly after, Rams head coach Sean McVay confirmed that Garrett would be added to IR after undergoing surgery to correct the knee issue.
Now, an orthopedic doctor has pointed to the wear and tear on Garrett's knee as a major cause for concern.
Dr. Robert Klapper sat down with ABC7's Curt Sandoval to speak about the concern that Garrett's swelling is something that could be a problem.
"If you are dealing with swelling over weeks and weeks, that tells you there is more of a chronic situation going on. Is it the meniscus? Yes, but how much has the cushion- the meniscus acted like sandpaper to irritate the cartilage in addition?" Dr. Klapper said.
Garrett will undergo surgery, but that could potentially not be enough to fully heal the issues or irritation that Dr. Klapper is speaking about.
McVay also indicated that he is unsure just how long the Rams' defensive end will be out, in addition to already being lost for the next four regular season games.
This is also all speculation, and Garrett could very well recover in a quick way to return after only spending four games away while healing.
There are a lot of factors when it comes to surgery, but Garrett is also not undergoing a full meniscus repair, which would have sidelined him for months. What is known is that he is undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
The hope for the Rams at this point is that Garrett is now out for the remainder of the season, or that he does not miss more than the four games that he will be on IR for. The silver lining is that the team is also expected to get Aaron Donald back, potentially by Week 2.
