Gone Gronk: Patriots superstar Rob Gronkowski to undergo back surgery
Bad news for football fans and fantasy owners: Rob Gronkowski will undergo back surgery for a herniated disc.
The New England Patriots tight end, who is among the league's biggest stars, will be out for more than a month as the NFL regular season approaches its finish line, according multiple reports.
Gronkowski is a 6-foot-6, 265-pound athletic marvel who is regarded as one of the league's most impressive physical specimens. But even he is far from immune from the dangers of a brutal sport.
You May Also Like
He left last week's win over the New York Jets with back problems. Two weeks before that, he suffered a perforated lung on this jarring hit.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
He also underwent back surgery in 2013 and 2009. He's predicted to miss "several weeks" of action this time around, per NFL.com.
His absence will rob the Patriots, whose current record of 9-2 leads the AFC East, of one their biggest offensive threats as the playoffs approach. The NFL regular season ends Jan. 1.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
