Chargers tight end Antonio Gates thought his right foot problems were gone. After two regular-season games in 2011, they’re back — and they’re showing no signs of going away.
Gates tore the plantar fascia in his foot last season, and he played through it into December. Nearly a year after the original injury, the problem is still there.
“Supposedly I wasn’t supposed to have it to this point,” Gates told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It was supposed to be gone five months ago. Somehow it’s still lingering. It’s still an uphill battle. . . . I don’t need to feel great to get back out there. When the pain is something I can tolerate. . . .”
Gates visited a foot specialist this week, but he reportedly learned nothing new. As Acee explains it, one of Gates’ major concerns is knowing that playing with the injury won’t risk further injury.
For now, it appears that Gates won’t be playing on Sunday against the Dolphins.
“It’d be difficult,” Gates said. “But who’s to say? In a span of two or three days, I’ve seen miracles happen with my body. I’m always in the gameplan, always studying. Who knows? There is a big difference between Wednesday and Sunday.”
Still one of the top tight ends in the NFL, the tearing of scar tissue in the foot is creating significant pain. The team and Gates say the question is how much pain he can tolerate. Though that explanation often is code for gauging a player’s toughness, playing with constant pain in a foot is far different from tolerating pain in other parts of the body, given that the player who tries to run pass routes with a foot injury constantly is placing all of his weight on the injured area.