Ronnie Hillman injury: Broncos running back suffers shoulder injury in practice Wednesday [updated]

Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman has been making fantasy football owners very happy over the past several weeks. Even the newly-retired Champ Bailey has endorsed Hillman as his fantasy running back of choice.

Perhaps Bailey's endorsement was actually the kiss of death, because an injury to Hillman was the surprise news of the day in Dove Valley Wednesday. Hillman was limited in practice after he "landed funny" on his shoulder, Broncos coach John Fox said after practice.

Fox would not go into detail about how serious the injury was.

It's too early to panic yet - there are still two days left of practice, after all - but the news is at least moderately concerning for Broncos fans eager to see Denver's revamped ground game continue its success and fantasy owners relying on Hillman's recent production. In three games since replacing the injured Montee Ball in Week 6, Hillman has averaged 94.3 yards per game and scored two touchdowns. He's averaged 14.7 fantasy points per game in that span in ESPN standard scoring leagues.

The Broncos have depth at running back behind Hillman, although none have a lot of NFL experience - Juwan Thompson, C.J. Anderson, and Kapri Bibbs will all compete for snaps if Hillman's injury causes him to miss time, while Ball is due back any time. We'll keep you posted.

Update: Ronnie Hillman told Troy Renck of the Denver Post he feels fine. Renck says it doesn't seem shoulder injury will limit him Sunday. We'll still keep an eye out.

Wednesday Injury Report

Denver Broncos

New England Patriots

BOLD-Indicates change in status
STATUS DEFINITIONS:                  
Out - player definitely will not play
Doubtful - at least 75% chance player will not play
Questionable - 50-50 chance player will not play
Probable - virtual certainty player will be available for normal duty