When the Saints announced that running back Darren Sproles would miss Monday night’s game against the Eagles following hand surgery, they were vague on the timetable for his recovery. But the usual recovery time for an injury like the one Sproles suffered is four to six weeks.
That’s the word from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, who adds that there is optimism in New Orleans for an earlier return than that. It’s not clear how Sproles suffered the injury, which is to his left hand, near his wrist.
The good news for the Saints is that they’re deep at running back -- so deep that Chris Ivory has been growing frustrated because hasn’t even played yet this year. Ivory is expected to play for the first time on Monday night, along with running backs Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram.
But Sproles does things that none of the other running backs can do. Sproles has the best rushing average on the team at 4.5 yards per carry and is also second on the team with 39 catches, just one fewer than No. 1 receiver Marques Colston. Plus Sproles has handled all the punt and kickoff returns all season.
So the Saints would sure hate to lose Sproles for any extended period of time. In a year when just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong in New Orleans, losing Sproles hurts.