Oct 22nd 2008 1:40PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Eagles, NFC East, NFL Injuries
It’s shaping up to be a completely lost season for Shawn Andrews of the Philadelphia Eagles. The guard missed a big chunk of training camp with what was described as a clinical bout of depression and then injured his back the second week of the season. Originally the Eagles said that surgery wasn’t a possibility to help fix the injury but, several weeks later, Andrews has indeed undergone surgery to repair a herniated disc.
He’s expected to miss at least six weeks and could be out for the remainder of the season. Andrews, by coach Andy Reid’s own admission, hadn’t improved since the injury occurred and one wonders why he didn’t pursue the surgical option more vigorously. It wasn’t the first time Andrews had an issue with the disc and if he’d had the surgery earlier, he could be back with the team sooner to help them make what they hope will be a push for the playoffs in the season’s final weeks.
It appears they’ll have to make such a push with Max Jean-Gilles occupying the Pro Bowler’s spot at right guard. The good news for the Eagles is that they expect to have Brian Westbrook, Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis in the lineup this Sunday which should mitigate the gaping hole left by Andrews on the offense.
