UPDATE: Kiko Alonso Still Has a Knee, Will Play Again This Season
Last week, Chip Kelly was incredibly vague about Kiko Alonso’s injury, taking what seemed to be a long-term deal and making it into a “he might play Sunday” thing. Alonso didn’t play Sunday, and reportedly sought out a second opinion on his knee from Dr. James Andrews in Florida. Or, as Chip puts it, he’s doing something down there:
“He’s doing some rehab work [in Florida]. I don’t think it’s surgery, I mean he’s coming back on Friday. We’ll see where he is then. He said they’re rehabbing him, it’s what I was told.”
According to numerous reports, Alonso is either done for the season and will need surgery, is done for the season but will not need surgery, or he can still play. Chip ruled Alonso out as an injured reserve candidate, implying that he can play again this season at some point. According to Paul Domowitch, it all comes down to Andrews:
If Andrews finds that the amount of damage to the remaining ligament is minimal, Alonso would be allowed to return this season after a short period of rehab, the source said. But if the scope shows that the graft is loose and significantly damaged, then he will need season-ending reconstructive surgery on the knee.
Or as Chip would put it: “A linebacker is somewhere being looked at. Injuries happen all the time. This is a team full of guys. Losing one guy doesn’t ruin a season. That said, I don’t think we’ll lose a guy. We might. I don’t think so.”
UPDATE: Ian Rapoport says Dr. Andrews’ second opinion is that Alonso’s ACL is intact, and he’ll need about a month of rehab before returning.
UPDATE 2: Howard Eskin says Alonso underwent surgery – technically what Rappppopppport said is the same thing – but he could be out a for just over two weeks.