SportsFullCircle

Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning will need 4 to 6 weeks for his left knee to heal. Recent surgery on his left knee will preclude him from throwing a football at the start of preseason. However, it is likely that Peyton will start in the regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears. On Friday, Peyton will miss his first meeting, practice, and organized activity of his NFL career.

Manning commented that it wouldn’t be a good idea to go back on the field with his knee not at 100%. “I have my leg constantly compressed and elevated. I’m still on IV antibiotics and still trying to keep the risk of infection from returning as low as possible. We feel at this point that the infection has resolved itself, but to be up there around 150 guys is probably not the smartest thing at this point. Once we feel like this infection is totally out of the woods, and maybe not as susceptible to it returning, then they feel like it will be safe for me to return.”

Although Manning had knee problems since the start of the offseason, the problem exacerbated on July 14, when he underwent knee surgery to remove an infected bursa sac in his left knee. “I experienced some swelling during the offseason, but it didn’t cause me to miss any sort of workouts,” he said. “I had a great offseason as far as weight lifting. My throwing, my running and my conditioning were as normal as in past years. I was controlling the swelling with treatment and occasional draining. We felt like we had control of it.”

While the surgery was successful, Manning is still limited to certain activities on a daily basis. “I haven’t been able to do a whole lot,” said Peyton. “I can do some of my upper body stuff with my right arm. I can work with my rotator cuff and I can toss the ball around. I can watch film. I can read. I can watch TV. I can catch up on calls with friends. The main thing I’ve been doing is trying to follow doctors’ orders and keep the leg elevated.”

Doctors told Manning that this is a rare infection for an athlete. It usually affects carpenters, plumbers and people who constantly hit their knees.

With Manning out, Jim Sorgi will be the new starting QB for the Colts (for now).