After spending most of this season recovering from offseason surgery to repair injuries from last year, the New England Patriots may once again be without star tight end Rob Gronkowski as the team fears he may have torn his ACL after a hit during the team's wild 27-26 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
ESPN reports that Gronkowski is set to undergo an MRI on Monday after he left the game with the injury Sunday afternoon. Gronkowski suffered the injury to his right leg and coach Bill Belichick told ESPN after the game that the tight end went to the hospital.
"Rob was taken to the hospital for observation and evaluation on his injury," Belichick said via ESPN. "That's all I have on it."
Gronkowski was hurt after he caught a pass from quarterback Tom Brady and took a direct hit to his right knee by Browns safety T.J. Ward and fell to the ground in pain. Ward expressed regret over the injury after the game.
"It was a decision I made just to make a tackle on a big man and unfortunately he got hurt, but if I would've hit up high, there's a chance I would get fined and all that other stuff. I'm just being safe," Ward said per ESPN.
Gronkowski, a two-time Pro Bowler, was carted off the field after medical personnel came to his aid. Gronkowski was unable to put weight on his leg when he tried to move from the ground to the cart.
Ward said he wasn't trying to hurt the 24-year-old tight end and that he never wants to injure anyone on the field.
"My intention is never to hurt anyone," Ward told ESPN. "That's not what this game is about. That's not how I play, I hate to see guys go down with any type of injury and I just wanted him to know, whether he accepted it or not, it wasn't an intentional hit to injure him. But we have to play this game, we have to play it the way that they force us to, and unfortunately, we incurred an injury for him."
Gronkowski has only appeared in six games this season after missing the opening six games of the campaign recovering from offseason back and forearm surgeries. On the year, he has 37 catches for 460 yards with four touchdowns. He had two catches for 32 yards before the injury.
The Patriots improved to 10-3 on Sunday and kept a three-game stranglehold on the AFC East Division lead, but the team may once again face life without their tight end yet again.
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