• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Promising Broncos Rookie Has Surgery, Out 3 Months

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Aug 7, 2008 2:52 pm US/Mountain

Promising Broncos Rookie Has Surgery, Out 3 Months

Ryan Torain May Be Placed On Injured Reserve

CBS4 Broncos Insiders Sign Ups: Get Broncos Email Updates or text 4broncos to 66247 for free wireless text updates

Written by Reggie Rivers
DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― Rookie running back Ryan Torain is expected to miss about three months after breaking a bone in his left elbow.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan announced Thursday that Torain would need surgery, likely Friday morning. Asked if the injury was a blow to the organization, he did not respond.

Andre Hall, one of the Broncos' three remaining healthy running backs, said the loss of Torain "messes things up."

"Ryan had the big body and the team had a short-yardage package in for him," he said. "The rest of us are going to have to step it up."

Besides Hall, the Broncos have Selvin Young and Anthony Aldridge at running back.

Torain, a fifth-round draft pick out of Arizona State, was flipped while rushing during 9-on-7 drills on Wednesday.

He was hit by linebackers Jordan Beck and Spencer Larsen and safety Roderick Rogers, and he put out his left arm to brace his fall.

"When I saw him go down, it hurt, but I was hoping he just got bumped up," Hall said, "that he would be all right, miss a few plays and come back in the third or fourth periods of practice."

Instead, Torain collapsed to the grass behind the goal posts as team doctors were leading him off the field, and he remained down for several minutes. He eventually was taken off the field in a cart.

"It is obviously more serious than what was first thought," Shanahan said.

Torain's rookie season is now in jeopardy and the Broncos are faced with a tough decision, CBS4's Reggie Rivers reports.

If they place him on injured reserve, he'll be ineligible to return this season even if his elbow healed faster than expected. If they believe that he'll be ready to return by mid-season, they could keep him on the 53-man roster, but they'd have to cut someone who could contribute right away.

Shanahan wouldn't speculate on how the missed practice time would affect Torain's ability to make the team.

"It depends on the recovery," Shanahan said. "We just have to see how the operation goes and see what the doctors say."

The fact that Shanahan is even considering putting the rookie on injured reserve says a lot about how highly the Broncos value Torain. They don't have to make a decision about Torain's roster status until the end of August, so there will be plenty of time after his surgery to see how he's progressing and how likely he is to be ready by mid-season.

CORRECTION: Initially, this story stated incorrectly that Torain's surgery took place Thursday morning.

Stay Up To Date On The Denver Broncos

• Email: Sign up for the CBS4 Broncos Insiders E-mail Update and you'll get the latest Broncos news in your inbox when it happens.
• Free Wireless Text Alerts: Stay informed with CBS4 Broncos Insiders text alerts. Your carrier's standard text messaging rates apply. (available to all major wireless carrier subscribers) To sign up, text 4broncos to 66247.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Curious & Controversial News

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Broncos

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.