| After having his surgery for an abdominal injury postponed because of Hurricane Sandy, Greg Jennings doesn’t know when he will be back for Packers fans. (US Presswire) |
Due to travel complications caused by Hurricane Sandy, Green Bay Packers WR Greg Jennings’ sports hernia surgery has been delayed, coach Mike McCarthy said.
Jennings, who has been sidelined for a month with an abdominal injury, was scheduled to have an operation in Philadelphia on Tuesday but the storm battering the East Coast made it impossible to get there. McCarthy said the procedure had been postponed.
“Exactly when he will go,” McCarthy said, “that has not been determined yet.”
Jennings suffered a groin injury in Week 1. He came back and re-aggravated it in Week 4, and has been shut down since. He was resting and trying to let it heal on its own, but last week he went to Philadelphia to get a second opinion from Dr. William Meyers, who diagnosed a rectus abdominis injury.
Whenever Jennings has the surgery, he said last week it will be a quick, relatively minor outpatient procedure that should last about 25 minutes. He wouldn’t provide a timetable for his return but said it was “not season-ending.”
For now, the two-time Pro Bowler, who’d never missed more than three games in his six seasons in Green Bay, will have to wait out the storm.
Injury update: McCarthy did not provide further updates on injuries to DEs Jerel Worthy (concussion) and Mike Neal (sprained ankle), who were both hurt in Sunday’s 24-15 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. McCarthy also said he didn’t know if CB Sam Shields (ankle), OLB Nick Perry (knee) or FB John Kuhn (hamstring) would be able to play this week against the Arizona Cardinals.
“I’m probably the wrong guy to ask,” McCarthy said. “(I’d say) they’re all playing. But the trainers don’t feel as good, so really Wednesday is a big day because they really up their rehab. They’ll do everything they can between (Monday) and Wednesday to get themselves into a position to go through the testing. We’ll see what happens.”
WR Jordy Nelson, who pulled his hamstring last week, worked out before Sunday’s game but was ultimately held out, McCarthy said, “He’s close. He’s getting close. But we’re in unchartered territory with Jordy. Jordy’s never experienced a hamstring injury. We’ll see where he is Wednesday.”
Not again: McCarthy provided a moment of levity in response to a question about a play from Sunday’s win he was likely not so lighthearted about during the game.
In the third quarter, the Packers attempted an elaborate fake punt where P Tim Masthay took the snap, tried to go through receiver progressions while rolling out to his left, then threw the ball across his body and across the field to a covered receiver, and the ball fell well short. If Masthay had thrown to wide-open TE Ryan Taylor right in front of him, the play could have worked.
Regardless, McCarthy said the play, one of several special teams fakes the Packers have run this season, has been shelved. “You can tell all the opponents. We will not be running that play again this year,” he said.
One short twice: The Packers lined up with only 10 players on the field in special teams situations twice against Jacksonville. Once, it didn’t matter because CB Davon House blocked a Jaguars punt and Dezman Moses recovered the ball in the end zone for a game-changing touchdown in the second quarter. Rookie WR Jarrett Boykin was the guilty absent player, because he was talking to wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett and didn’t realize he needed to be on the field.
The second time, not having enough men on the field didn’t work out as well. The Jaguars kicked a field goal that pulled them within 21-15 with 6:50 remaining in the game. McCarthy was not pleased with the mistake, which resulted because Mike Neal had gotten hurt earlier on the drive and it wasn’t communicated that Green Bay needed to send a replacement onto the field with the field goal unit.
“It’s not OK,” McCarthy said. “(On the first one), it’s a young man who was tied up with his coach and he’ll learn from that. The second one, 10 men on the field, was the timing and communication of Mike Neal getting hurt and the medical staff. It happens. You don’t like it when it happens, but that’s what happened on the field goal.”
Follow Packers reporter James Carlton on Twitter: @CBSPackers and @jimmycarlton88.