Last week, after Chip Kelly announced Zach Ertz sustained a core muscle injury that would require surgery, the Eagles' head coach also painted an optimistic picture of the tight end’s availability by the season opener.
The Eagles open Monday, Sept. 14, against the Falcons in Atlanta.
“I think he'll be back for Week 1,” Kelly said. “It will be a couple weeks with him [being out], but he's not going to play in the preseason.”
Ertz on Friday underwent core muscle surgery, a procedure performed by Philadelphia-based specialist Dr. William Myers, who routinely performs sports hernia surgeries on NFL athletes and recently worked on Texans running back Arian Foster.
Another surgeon who spent 17 years in the NFL as a team physician echoed a different and less optimistic sentiment about Ertz’s ability to play in the season opener.
Dr. David Chao, who writes about NFL medical issues for the National Football Post, estimated that “it’s possible, but not guaranteed” that Ertz will suit up against the Falcons.
Chao challenged the narratives coming from both Houston and Philadelphia, that Foster will be out around three months and that Ertz will be out only "a couple of weeks."
“Typically sports hernia recovery is 4-6 weeks,” Chao wrote in his Monday Morning MD column. “Foster’s recovery should be similar but may be slightly longer due to his position and as the bell cow running back, the Texans may want to make sure he is 100 percent to avoid any flare ups throughout the season.”
The Eagles’ opener is 31 days — four weeks and three days — removed from Ertz’s Aug. 14 surgery. So even if the tight end’s recovery leans closer toward four weeks, Ertz would have just three days of practice to be ready for the game after being sidelined for about one month.
If Ertz’s timetable is closer to the six-week projection, it’s hard to see the third-year pro being back on the field for the first three weeks of the season.