Reports: Cam Newton's foot injury may keep him out longer than first believed
After dragging out the fairly obvious last week - that Cam Newton wouldn’t play because of a foot injury - the Carolina Panthers wasted no time this week in making it clear that Newton won’t be available this Sunday.
But Kyle Allen could get more than just a second start.
Reports: Lisfranc injury could sideline Newton for weeks
On Monday evening, The Athletic’s Joe Person reported that Newton’s left foot issue is a Lisfranc injury; multiple sources confirmed that as the nature of the problem.
Lisfranc injuries are in the mid-foot, and stem from ligaments in the area rupturing, causing instability with the joints. Some Lisfranc injuries also involve trauma to the small bones of the foot, but as Person notes, the Panthers’ initial wording on Newton’s injury last month was that it was a mid-foot sprain, suggesting it’s ligament-related (sprains are muscle/ligament tears of varying degrees).
Some athletes do require season-ending surgery to repair Lisfranc damage, but Person reported that the current plan for Newton does not include surgery.
A rest period of 4-to-8 weeks could be in order.
‘What Cam needs is time’
In announcing on Monday that Allen will start this week when the Panthers face the Houston Texans, Carolina coach Ron Rivera said, “What Cam needs right now is time and rest for his foot. We want him at 100 percent when he’s ready, so there’s no exact timetable for his return. At this point, we’re going to go forward with Kyle as our starter.”
Newton was injured last month during a preseason game against the New England Patriots. He played in the regular-season opener less than two weeks later but didn’t look like himself in either of the two games he played before he was sidelined.
Allen, a second-year quarterback who was undrafted last year, played well last Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, completing 19-of-26 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns.
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