Bad luck. Worst-case scenario.
That was how some NFL team doctors, orthopedic surgeons, and other sports medicine experts around the country described the refractured left forearm that ended the season for Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
To continue getting breaking news and the full stories from The Boston Globe, subscribe today.

Bad luck. Worst-case scenario.
That was how some NFL team doctors, orthopedic surgeons, and other sports medicine experts around the country described the refractured left forearm that ended the season for Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Comments
Doctors were wrong on this one and will not admit it. It takes up to a year for a fracture to FULLY heal. If the arm is weak there is no way a player can protect himself properly in a violent sport like NFL football. Gronk should have never returned.
I agree, the return of Gronk was foolhardy. Simply watching him protect the arm on the field was enough to realize this was not a good idea. How can you protect a broken arm in a football game? Get real.
So evidently sueed knows more than highly regarded Doctor's from around the country. Your break is over sueed, get your broom and get back to work.
I'm not passing judgement on the team on or Gronk. He's paid to play and I'm sure everyone knew the risk. But speaking from my own experience with a similar fracture that required surgery and a plate to support the bone and promote healing, it takes at least six months for the bone to regrow into the fractured area and knit it together and a year for full recovery. That's what my doctor told me and that's pretty much how it went.
Sh!t happens...
I think Shira left out one huge factor when it comes to pro football players playing through pain -- very agressive use of a wide variety of pain killers and other pharmacuticals. It's not just mental toughness. It's not just a couple of Ibuprofen. Read the recent Dan Le Batard's article about Jason Taylor in a recent Miama Herald. This is clearly another one of the dirty little secrets of the NFL. And, I assume, other pro sports as well. It would be very interesting to read a report of all the medications, Rx and OTC, injections, etc taken by the Patriots in the two or three days proceeding, during, and after a game.