Rob Gronkowski will have his sixth surgery in less than a year soon enough, but his agent isn’t getting caught up in all the injury drama.
Drew Rosenhaus addressed Gronk’s impending back surgery during an appearance on WQAM radio in Miami on Thursday morning, downplaying the severity of the procedure.
“This is a new injury and it’s minor, it’s not as significant [as his prior back injury],” Rosenhaus said. “I don’t think it’s a big deal, I think it’s more preventive maintenance than anything else. It’s something that, although he needs it, he’s had it for a while and he’s been able to function.”
This isn’t Gronkowski’s first experience with back surgery, either. He underwent surgery to repair a disc in his back ahead of his junior year in college, which caused him to miss the entire 2009 season. Rosenhaus insists this is a much different and more minor procedure altogether, and the timetable for return will not change from Gronk’s most recent (fourth) forearm surgery.
“This is a lingering problem that Rob’s had for a while that’s he’s been playing with, actually through all of last season,” Rosenhaus said. “The recovery will be very comparable to the amount of time he’ll miss with the arm surgery. So why not get it down and make sure when he is healthy he’s 100 percent and doesn’t have to address the back down the road?”
The back surgery could take anywhere from four-to-10 weeks to fully recover, making Gronk a candidate for the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, which could keep him out until Week 6 of the regular season. Fortunately for the Patriots, they have a bevy of tight ends in stock, including Jake Ballard, Daniel Fells and fellow Pro Bowler Aaron Hernandez.
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