New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has had quite the offseason after being seen out in Las Vegas wrestling with a broken forearm and now news has come out that he underwent surgery on that same forearm last week for an infection.
According to sources who spoke to ESPNBoston.com, Gronkowski had surgery on the same forearm he broke multiple times this season to help with an infection in the broken area. The report says that Gronkowski is not expected to miss any extra time, since the infection was caught early on and he is on track to start training camp for the Patriots.
The 23-year-old has had three operations on his arm since breaking it against the Colts on Nov. 18 during the regular season. After missing five games with the injury he returned for the season finale, but soon suffered another injury after breaking it against the Houston Texans in the playoffs in the divisional round.
Gronkowski has been relatively healthy for his entire career until this season and had never missed any regular season game before breaking his arm. He had an ankle injury last season leading up to the Super Bowl and was noticeably hobbled while playing against the Giants.
The tight end recently signed a six-year, $54 million contract extension and made 55 catches for 790 yards and league-leading 11 touchdowns although he played in just 11 games. Gronkowski made it to the Pro Bowl for the second straight season and he set multiple records with 17 touchdowns to go along with 90 receptions for 1,327 yards.
Gronkowski has had an eventful offseason since being injured and was spotted by TMZ in Las Vegas partying and wrestling with his broken arm. He stood up and showed that he was fine in the video, but it is likely the team was not too fond of his antics.
The tight end also was spotted after ringing up a nearly $10,000 check at the same nightclub last week by Buzzfeed, which included a gratuity of $1,400. The bill had a number of drinks and bottles on the tab, including Crown Royal, Grey Goose, Ciroc and much more.
The tight end has proven to be a wild man when it comes to partying, but he also has been prolific on the field and as long as his production doesn't suffer, Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick will be happy.