Speaking for the first time at length this offseason, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said Friday he’s happy to have undergone neck surgery. (Florio wonders if he got bolt implants.)
“I’m very relieved of that and I no longer have to get the treatment that I was having to get for the past four years,” Manning said at Colts minicamp, as transcribed by ESPN’s Paul Kuharsky. “Treatment was time as much as anything, manual traction trying to relieve some things. Three times a day about 25 minutes apiece just got to be tough, very time consuming.”
Amazingly, no one even knew Manning had neck issues before. Our handy Rotoworld database last mentions a neck injury in 2006 when his helmet was ripped off during a game. The Colts didn’t mention the injury since.
Manning says he’s not worried about a Super Bowl hangover or his missing teammates. He was back at practice Friday, so the injury shouldn’t get in his way any longer.
“I don’t really get into the tendencies,” he said. “I think it’s all about how you handle it as a team. I think we’ve had another outstanding offseason. Come training camp time we expect everybody to be here.”