Updated: 2:45 p.m.
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz will miss the preseason to recover from a core muscle injury, head coach Chip Kelly said Friday, and inside linebacker Kiko Alonso won’t be returning from his concussion before Sunday’s preseason opener.
Kelly said Ertz visited Friday with renowned Philadelphia-based Dr. William Myers, who has performed several sports hernia surgeries on players all across the NFL. The team announced Friday afternoon that Ertz underwent a procedure to repair a core muscle injury.
Ertz, who’s taken some hard hits, went down hard Wednesday after catching a pass from Sam Bradford near the goal in red-zone work and struggled to get back to his feet. He labored to the sideline and then went back down before eventually getting up and trying to jog out the pain. He didn’t practice much after and then sat out Thursday’s session.
Kelly said the third-year tight end would be out several weeks and wouldn’t play in the preseason but expects Ertz to be ready for the Sept. 14 season opener in Atlanta.
“I think he’ll be back for Week 1 but right now he’s out,” Kelly said. “It’ll be a couple of weeks with him.”
As for Alonso, Kelly said the concussed inside linebacker is fine and that the team is in no hurry to get him back on the field.
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Kelly said the team hasn’t even sought medical clearance for the third-year linebacker, who missed all last season with Buffalo after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament early in training camp and was acquired in a trade this offseason.
“We haven’t even put him through the protocol,” Kelly said. “We’re just taking him along slowly."
Alonso, whom the Eagles traded LeSean McCoy to get, sustained the concussion last Tuesday in the team’s first open practice at the Linc. Kelly said he hoped to get Alonso back before the Eagles play the Ravens in next Sunday’s preseason game. The Eagles and Ravens will have joint practices next week at the NovaCare Complex, starting Tuesday.
“Kiko is fine,” Kelly said. “Again, we know what type of football player he is but that’s not something we need to rush him back into doing anything. His legs are healthy. He can run around and do all those other things, but when you deal with an injury like that you just kind of take your time.”
The Eagles also waived outside linebacker Brandon Hepburn (abdominal) and defensive end B.J. McBryde (foot) after reaching injury settlements and signed free agent defensive end Alfy Hill, a former Winston-Salem State standout who was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals after a tryout.