Owens’ Injury Clips the Hopes of Soaring Eagles

Philadelphia receiver Terrell Owens, perhaps pro football’s most explosive playmaker, has helped the Eagles to an NFC East title and a 13-1 record.

But now they’ll have to make do without him.

Owens will sit out the final two games of the regular season and possibly the playoffs and Super Bowl because of a severely sprained right ankle. He suffered the injury Sunday in the third quarter of a victory over Dallas, and he will undergo surgery Wednesday.

“I was looking forward to the playoffs, really trying to get this team to the Super Bowl,” said Owens, who was acquired from San Francisco last spring and has 77 catches for 1,120 yards and a franchise-record 14 touchdowns. “I think without me, still, they achieve that goal.”

Should the Eagles make it to the Super Bowl on Feb. 6, Philadelphia team trainer Rick Burkholder said, Owens stands an outside chance of being ready to return. Burkholder said Owens might be able to resume running in five weeks, the weekend of the NFC championship game.

“The scenario I painted is the best-case scenario, but it’s realistic,” Burkholder said. “There’s a lot of hurdles that need to be taken on before he can ever get to that point.”

But at least one doctor with experience treating high-ankle sprains that require surgery said it might be overly optimistic to say Owens will be ready to come back in time for the Super Bowl.

“It’s very unlikely he’d be back that quickly from that type of injury requiring surgery,” said Dr. Pierce Scranton, former president of the NFL Physicians Society and author of “Playing Hurt: Evaluating and Treating the Warriors of the NFL.” Because Scranton isn’t familiar with the specifics of Owens’ case, he could speak only in generalities about high-ankle sprains, which are far more insidious than a typical tweaked lower ankle.

Unlike a common ankle sprain, which can be stabilized with foam wrap and tape, an untreated high-ankle sprain can actually push apart the two bones in the lower leg like a wedge splitting a log. The injury amounts to a disruption of the ligaments that hold the tibia and fibula together and form a socket for the lower ankle and foot. If those ligaments are weakened or even torn, there’s a possibility the whole foot-ankle assembly can be shoved upward and, in Scranton’s words, “blow apart your lower leg.”

Owens was hurt on the second play of the third quarter when he was dragged down from behind by safety Roy Williams after making a 20-yard reception. Owens immediately grabbed the back of his leg, which was bent backward. Tests revealed a sprained deltoid ligament and a fracture a few inches below his knee, one doctors think will heal on its own in the coming weeks. A screw will be implanted to stabilize and strengthen the ankle joint. Burkholder said there was a “tremendous amount of damage” to the ankle.

After having an MRI exam at the Eagles’ complex Monday morning, Owens saw an ankle specialist in Baltimore who recommended surgery.

“I went down there optimistic, hoping for the best, and I got the worst of news,” Owens said in a conference call. “Things happen. You just have to move on from it.”

The Eagles, losers of three consecutive NFC title games, now have to move on without one of the best receivers in the game and an emotional leader. Either Freddie Mitchell or Greg Lewis will fill in for Owens and start at receiver opposite Todd Pinkston.

Owens is “a great player, but can the offense go on? Absolutely,” Coach Andy Reid said. “We have some pretty good players on this offensive unit, so it’ll still function and do very well this week.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)Grounded

A look at Terrell Owens’ numbers this season (with NFL rank) and the runner-up in each category at receiver for the Eagles:

*--* Cate. Owens (Rk) Runner-up Rec. 77 (9th) Todd Pinkston, 36 Yards 1,200 (3rd) Pinkston, 676 Avg. 15.6 (20th) Freddie Mitchell, 19.5* TD 14 (1st) L.J. Smith, 5 *-leads Eagles

*--*

*

Associated Press contributed to this report.