COSTA MESA, CA – After returning from a long road in 2018 due to injury, Chargers tight end Hunter Henry will have to watch the next several weeks from the sidelines due to suffered a tibia plateau fracture to his left knee.
According to reports he’s expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Henry hurt his knee late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. He caught an awesome 17-yard pass from quarterback Philip Rivers in the overtime period.
“You hate it for him, ” Rivers said. “You saw how excited he was to be out there this year and how hard he worked to get back. From an offensive standpoint, you saw how big a part of it he is and what it was going to be from last week here as the season gets going.”
A tough break for a young man who works extremely hard and loves the game of football. Last year Henry tore his ACL.
“He wants to be here with his teammates,” head coach Anthony Lynn said. “He wants to play. And not being out there with them, he feels like he’s letting them down. But he’s not. You can’t control these things.”
This team is resilient, no matter what adversity comes their way, this Bolts team has the “next man up” mentality.
With Henry out for now, the Bolts are missing RB Melvin Gordon (due to contract hold out), S Derwin James, LT Russell Okung, CB Trevor Williams. The team may be without WR Mike Williams who also injured his knee on Sunday. According to Lynn, Williams continues to get treatment.
For now tight ends Virgil Green and Sean Culkin will have to step up and fill the void left by Henry. However can we completely rule out the possibility of an Antonio Gates return soon?
“I have not been in contact with Antonio,” Lynn said. “I’m not sure what his situation is.”
The good news is Henry is not out for the year and will return sometime this season for the Chargers.
“Hunter is just a guy who loves being out there,” Ekeler expressed. “He’s vocal out there on the field. He’s always saying random things and just smiling. Hopefully it’s a good recovery and he gets back out there.”
