FOXBORO, Mass. — Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich was excited to learn his left knee injury wasn’t as severe as he originally thought.
Ninkovich tore the LCL in his left knee during Sunday’s loss to the Jets, and he won’t need surgery. He’ll stay in the Foxboro area for his rehabilitation process, which is expected to last about six to eight weeks.
“When I did it, I heard a pop, so I didn’t know what it was,” Ninkovich said. “I’ve had that before where I tore my [right] ACL and all that stuff before. It’s just kind of one of those scary [thoughts of], ‘I can’t believe this is going to happen again to me.’ I was just happy for a good outcome.”
Ninkovich, whose contract runs through the 2011 season, had 58 tackles, four sacks, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, nine quarterback hits and three passes defensed this season. He also had 11 special teams tackles.
