Denver Broncos Injury News: Broncos Avoid Major Injuries Against Bears

The Broncos were fortunate to walk out of Soldier Field with just a handful of injuries after facing the Chicago Bears. Danny Trevathan suffered a sprained ankle, while Chris Clark and Chris Gronkowski both pulled their groins. John Fox said that these injuries were "not serious, but it's something we'll manage moving forward". The Danny Trevathan injury is one we should all be aware of, especially considering the upcoming DJ Williams suspension, which will have the Broncos scouring the depth chart for linebacker talent for the first 6 weeks of the season.

Many people had their eyes on Peyton Manning, wondering how his body would hold up to the first live game action in 19 months. Some wonder whether or not he would be able to handle the "big hit", speculating that Julius Peppers would deliver the blow. Peppers didn't play and Manning was never struck with a "big hit", but he was pressured from an Israel Idonije pass rush around Ryan Clady during the first drive. It wasn't a devastating hit, by any means, but it was enough to put Manning on the ground.

Ronnie Hillman was held out of the Thursday night contest against the Bears, still nursing a hamstring injury.

Xavier Oman was lucky to walk away after being horse-collared by Bears linebacker, Patrick Trahan. With about 3 and a half minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Oman caught a short screen to the left hand side and was grabbed toward the rear of his right shoulder pad and ridden to the ground. His body twisted to the right and he fell harmlessly to the turf, but in situations like that, he could have very easily had some rotation in his knee, causing damage to who knows what. He was lucky to walk away from that one.

In AFC West injury news, Ryan Mathews suffered a shoulder injury (broken clavicle) during Thursday's game against the Packers. Mathews had one carry for 5 yards before having to leave the game. That's not something Chargers fans were looking forward to, considering their backup runningbacks are Ronnie Brown, Jackie Battle and Curtis Brinkley.

Mathews will have surgery Friday and is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks. The Broncos first game against the Chargers is week 6 of the regular season, so Mathews should be back by that point, barring any setbacks.

The Kansas City Chiefs play on Friday against the Arizona Cardinals and the Oakland Raiders play Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys.