The Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Andrew Luck just can't catch a break this season - or, perhaps more accurately, they can't stop catching breaks. And strains. And lacerations.
The Colts announced on Tuesday that Luck "incurred abdominal injuries" during their win Sunday night over the Denver Broncos. Luck is expected to miss somewhere between two and six weeks.
"The injuries happened at the end of an early fourth quarter scramble when Andrew was doing everything he could to get us the win," Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said as part of the release announcing the move. "Andrew was sore after the game and was feeling a little worse Monday afternoon so we sent him to get tests."
The Colts were hit by a bevy of reports several weeks ago when it was reported that Luck had been playing the early portion of the season with multiple fractured ribs. The team came under fire because they'd made no mention of rib injuries for Luck on any of the injury reports.
Luck missed two games in Oct., replaced by veteran Matt Hasselbeck, who, despite dealing with his own health complications, threw for nearly 500 yards, three touchdowns and, most importantly, two victories.
Luck was declared fully healthy ahead of the Broncos game and showed it on the field, tossing two touchdowns and collecting 252 yards through the air as the Colts dominated former quarterback Peyton Manning and Denver.
Per the Colts' release, Luck has a laceration to his kidney and "partial tearing" of an abdominal muscle. He will not have to undergo surgery.
"It's way too early to guess how long Andrew will be out," said Pagano. "We're going to keep listening to the doctors and evaluating his progress on a week by week basis. We've got all the confidence in the world in Matt Hasselbeck and we're not going to put Andrew back out there until he's healed and ready to go."
With Luck sidelined indefinitely, a healthy Hasselbeck looks set to take the reins of the Indianapolis offense, potentially for the remainder of the season.
