A potential timetable for rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed’s return to the Chiefs
Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed’s rookie season will be on hold, as a source told The Star’s Sam McDowell that Sneed broke his collarbone during Monday’s game against the Ravens.
While the severity of the clavicle break is unknown, it is unlikely Sneed will miss the final 13 games of the regular season.
Dev K. Mishra, a physician who is president of Sideline Sports Doc, has taken a closer look at broke clavicle injuries.
“(I)t’s usually around 3 months after the injury or surgery date to return to unrestricted sports,” Mishra wrote. “These are the basic criteria:
- The fracture must be healed on x-ray
- Strength and motion returned to normal
- Must have coordination and power needed for your particular sport and position”
Under that three-month timeline, Sneed’s possible return date would be in December.
That was the outlook provided by Cliff Ross, writing for Health News Hub, after Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ clavicle was broken in the 2017 season.
“It usually takes 6-8 weeks or 8-12 weeks, depending on the severity of the injury,” Ross wrote.
He added: “The clavicle is a strut that connects the entire upper extremity to the rest of the skeleton. It is important in the elite athlete to restore normal length and alignment to the clavicle to optimize muscle function around the shoulder.”
Rodgers missed seven games in 2017. He returned to play one game, but when the Packers were eliminated from playoff contention, Rodgers sat out the season finale.
There are a few other notable examples of players who had a similar injury as Sneed’s.
In 2012, Packers cornerback Charles Woodson missed the final nine games of the season because of a broken clavicle, although it had been fractured earlier in his career.
Quarterback Nick Foles had a broken collarbone in the Jaguars’ season-opening loss to the Chiefs a year ago. He missed eight games after being placed on injured reserve, but was back at practice after five weeks, as the Jacksonville website notes. The Jaguars said a plate was installed in Foles’ clavicle to repair the injury.
When quarterback Daniel Jones was at Duke, he missed just three weeks “after surgeons inserted a plate and screws to stabilize the crucial bone that connects his left arm to his body,” the News & Observer reported.
That would seem to be a best-case scenario for Sneed’s return.
