Rob Gronkowski's forearm has gotten more media attention than normal. The New England Patriots' tight end has had numerous issues with his left arm, stemming from an original injury sustained back in November. After missing most of the season with the reoccurring injury, it is now being reported that Gronkowski had a third surgery last week on the forearm to help heal an infection. League sources confirmed the ESPN report Tuesday.
The infection was caught at an early stage and was treated quickly. This should not delay Gronkowski's return time at all. He is expected to be ready by the time training camp begins for the Patriots.
Gronkowski originally broke his forearm in a game against the Indianapolis Colts Nov. 18 while on the field with the extra-point protection unit. He had a plate inserted during a surgery to help strengthen the recovering bone. He originally missed five games with due to the arm injury and returned for the Patriots' regular-season finale.
Gronkowski played a limited role in the game. Two weeks late on Jan. 13 when the Patriots hosted the Houston Texas in the AFC divisional round playoff game, Gronkowski dove to pull in a sideline pass, landed on the left arm and broke it again. The break occurred at the point where the inserted plate ended, leaving doctors to call the instance a freak occurrence. He had another surgery and the arm was placed in a cast.
Once the cast was removed, doctors discovered the infection, prompting the most recent surgery to take place.
The 23-year old two-time Pro Bowler was recently criticized earlier this month when he was videotaped performing a wrestling move on a friend at a Las Vegas nightclub, while the arm was still in a cast. Many Patriots teammates have downplayed the incident. Patriots offensive lineman Logan Mankins claimed he did not have a problem with it since Gronkowski was just having fun. The surgery forced Gronkowski to pull out of an appearance with the NFL Network to interview stars on the Oscars red carpet show.
