When the pain shot through Javon Walker's right leg you can imagine what was going through his mind. Probably the same thing going through all of our minds at the same time. Injured when he landed awkwardly after a sweet TD reception Thursday Morning, Walker initially didn't know what to think.
"It was kind of scary," Walker said, adding, "I actually didn't know what was wrong."
A magnetic resonance imaging exam was performed to find out. The news apparently turned out to be the best-case scenario.
"From what I understand some of the tissue and cartilage is still breaking away from the surgery, which is a good thing because the range of motion gets better in my knee," he explained.
Yes, the noise you heard was the collective shigh of relief from an entire region of football fans. The Broncos can handle some injuries, losing Walker, however, would in my pinion be a bit too much to handle. It looks like we won't have to find out.
"I plan on playing on Saturday," Walker said. "I'll be ready to go."
Unfortunitely the same can not be said for other Broncos players, who now seem to be falling faster than snow in the Rockies. The latest reports to the M.A.S.H unit? Tim Crowder(ankle) and Adam Meadows(calf) were seen on crutches, painful companions to a couple of Broncos who looked to be on their way to solid pre-seasons. While nothing has been made official, I think it is safe to say neither will be ready for the Cowboys.
Crowder isn't the only Broncos' draf tpick to go down woth an injury. Tackle Ryan Harris underwent back surgery and should miss 4-6 weeks. Harris underwent a similar procedure last season with Notre Dame, but was able to return in under two weeks. Harris' loss leaves the Broncos a bit thin at Tackle, which might be a hge understatement.
On the bright side, Tony Scheffler is getting more and more practice time, and appears on his way to seeing some action on Saturday Night.
"Every day it gets a little better, but I'm still not able to make some of the cuts I need to be out there playing," he said. "So it's frustrating. It's definitely frustrating. But slowly but surely, I think it will be ready."
Scheffler added his conditioning and endurance have returned, so that's been positive.
"It's a matter of working the soreness out and being able to accelerate off that foot," he said.