RB Ryan Mathews breaks clavicle in Chargers victory over the Packers
Written by Adrian Gregory Glover // August 10, 2012 // News // 2 Comments
SAN DIEGO — San Diego Chargers starting running back Ryan Mathews will undergo surgery Friday morning for a broken clavicle/collarbone.
The injury-prone back was hurt on his first pre-season carry during Thursday night’s 21-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
“It’s just unfortunate,” quarterback Philip Rivers told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “His first carry of the season. He’ll stay strong. We’ll keep him strong and upbeat because I know how excited he was about the season. He was openly commenting about how excited he was and how hard he’s trained. He’ll still bounce back and have a great year.”
“It’s very unfortunate,” cornerback Antoine Cason said. “It sucks. This is the first time I’m hearing about it. All I can say is it’s unfortunate for a guy with so much potential. He’s been working his butt off. That’s all he can ask of himself, to hold himself accountable for us and for himself.”
Mathews will be out four to six weeks according to Chargers coach Norv Turner who touted the depth of the team’s roster.
“That’s why Ronnie Brown’s here,” Turner said. “I think you’re going to have situations where you’re not going to have everybody. That’s what I’ve been talking about since April after the draft and after we signed these players, we’ve protected ourselves in those situations.
“If someone goes down, we have answers. We have guys who can step in and go.”
Mathews has had a rough go of it since he came into the league. He was anchored by numerous injuries that saw him miss four games of his rookie year while missing two last season.
Mathews was involved in a car accident earlier this week that he downplayed as something that would not impact his availability.
On a brighter note, the Chargers were ecstatic with the debut of their coveted draft pick Melvin Ingram who brought the heat against Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and forced one of five turnovers.
