Florio told you an hour ago that Peyton Manning’s surgery could happen as early as Thursday. We can now tell you that surgery is complete.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports Manning had cervical fusion surgery, which wrapped up this afternoon. The expected recovery is 2-3 months, although we’ve seen with this injury how tricky it is to put a timeline on anything. There is no plan for Manning to go on I.R.
Manning reportedly consulted with a half-dozen doctors who came up with the solution to get cervical neck fusion.
A timeline to return is just a guess. Indianapolis had no idea how Manning would respond to his last surgery. After delays, he tried to practice lightly for a week. That caused a setback and further surgery. No one can truly know where this goes from here.
“He’s been on the clock since May,” Archie Manning said of his son to Mort. “He didn’t make it. Obviously, it’s a big letdown, but he can relax a little bit compared to the intensity of everything he has done trying to rehab.”
It sounds like the Colts will hold out hope that Manning can return this season, but the landscape of the AFC South has clearly changed.
It’s up to Kerry Collins and company to keep the Colts afloat in the meantime. We have our doubts they can do so.
Even if Manning was able to play again this season, it could be too late to make a difference.