This came out of left field.
After suffering through both a shoulder and ribs injuries earlier in the season, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is now dealing with a more serious injury that could keep him out for a substantial amount of time.
Shocking the football world on Tuesday, the Colts announced that their franchise quarterback will be out 2-6 weeks with a lacerated kidney and abdominal injuries:
“The injuries happened at the end of an early fourth quarter scramble when Andrew was doing everything he could to get us the win,” Head Coach Chuck Pagano said. “Andrew was sore after the game and was feeling a little worse Monday afternoon so we sent him to get tests.”
The team went on to say the injuries shouldn't require surgery. Though, Pagano couldn't expand on the time frame suggested in the Colts press release.
This comes on the heels of the Colts' best performance of the season in a win against the previously undefeated Denver Broncos last week.
Despite the win, Luck found himself hit 11 times on 43 drop backs. Heading into Week 10, the former No. 1 pick has been pressured 40 percent of the time he's dropped back to pass.
The injuries themselves seem to be more serious than what Luck was suffering through earlier this year, at least from a personal health standpoint. There is absolutely no way Indianapolis throws Luck back on to the field unless he's 100 percent recovered here — an indication that the time frame could be closer to six weeks than two.
Heading into their bye, the 4-5 Colts will have to rely on Matt Hasselbeck for at least one game. The veteran is 2-0 as a starter this season in Luck's stead. He immediately becomes a must add in standard 12-team leagues.