UNHWildCats
September 9th, 2008, 07:38 PM
San Diego Chargers (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=sdg) linebacker Shawne Merriman (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=8427)'s season is over after he tried to play the season opener Sunday with two torn knee ligaments.
The Chargers announced Merriman will be placed on injured reserve to undergo total reconstructive knee surgery that will include the repair of his lateral collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments.
"Shawne informed me he did not feel right [on the field] and thought it best to shut it down," Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said. "The road to winning the AFC West just got more difficult, but not impossible. Nothing is impossible. Shawne is a great player and an inspirational leader. He will be missed. We wish him a successful surgery and a speedy recovery."
The knee problem dates to the end of the 2007 season.
Merriman has tears in his left knee, which he hurt in a game at Tennessee in December. Merriman sought outside opinions, with four doctors telling him he needed surgery, but said there "just wasn't a time frame on that. My knee still looks pretty good. The decision was left up to me to play. If you give a football player a decision to play, you know, I'm going to play."
Before the season started, Merriman decided to play rather than have his damaged left knee repaired.
"To be as simple as possible, I just want to play football," Merriman said previously. "That's what it comes down to. I know what's on the table, I know what's on the line. I put a lot of work in this, and I want to play."
He likely will be looking at a rehab of six to seven months.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3578588
The Chargers announced Merriman will be placed on injured reserve to undergo total reconstructive knee surgery that will include the repair of his lateral collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments.
"Shawne informed me he did not feel right [on the field] and thought it best to shut it down," Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said. "The road to winning the AFC West just got more difficult, but not impossible. Nothing is impossible. Shawne is a great player and an inspirational leader. He will be missed. We wish him a successful surgery and a speedy recovery."
The knee problem dates to the end of the 2007 season.
Merriman has tears in his left knee, which he hurt in a game at Tennessee in December. Merriman sought outside opinions, with four doctors telling him he needed surgery, but said there "just wasn't a time frame on that. My knee still looks pretty good. The decision was left up to me to play. If you give a football player a decision to play, you know, I'm going to play."
Before the season started, Merriman decided to play rather than have his damaged left knee repaired.
"To be as simple as possible, I just want to play football," Merriman said previously. "That's what it comes down to. I know what's on the table, I know what's on the line. I put a lot of work in this, and I want to play."
He likely will be looking at a rehab of six to seven months.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3578588