Stephen Gostkowski admitted he wasn't expecting to spend the rest of the season on injured reserve after feeling a twinge of pain during the Patriots' loss to the Browns on Nov. 7.
According to a report by the Boston Herald, the reliable kicker said that he initially tried to play through the pain in his right quad, but soon realized that it was more serious than he originally thought.
Gostkowski underwent a successful surgery last week to repair the injured muscle and is currently hobbling around on crutches. While a full recovery is anticipated for the 2011 season, Gotskowski can't help but feel disappointed about missing the rest of this year with the Patriots.
"I was pretty bummed about it, but I've had time to sit and think about it," Gotskowski told the Herald. "You can control things like playing well or playing bad. That hits me a lot harder than injury. It's out of my control. I can't physically be out there. Nothing I can do to fix it except rehab and get better and look forward to next season and cheer the guys on for this year."
Even though he can't be out on the field, Gostowski is still fully involved with the Patriots on a weekly basis. He serves as an adviser to replacement kicker Shayne Graham – who is currently 3-for-3 in field-goal attempts and 7-for-8 in extra-point attempts in two games with New England – and he also volunteers his time with the Patriots' community outreach.
Gostkowski still doesn't have an exact date in mind for a return, but he's putting every effort into his recovery so this injury will not affect him in the future.
"Depending on how it goes, it seems to be something that won't have repercussions in the future if I do a good job of recovering," Gostkowski told the Herald. "It's something that's good to keep the spirits up, knowing that I should be back, and try to get back to where I was."
