Bears LB Brian Urlacher doesn't require surgery after MRI scan - NFL News
The Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has undergone an MRI scan after injuring his knee in the 17-13 victory over Minnesota Vikings last week but the injury does not look as bad as first thought.
The linebacker’s MRI scans revealed that Urlacher did not suffer any major damage to his knee and would not require surgery. This will be good news for the Bears since they would want a fully fit Urlacher ready to start the new season in 2012.
Urlacher got the injury in the fourth quarter. The linebacker rushed to intercept an incomplete pass in the end-zone towards Vikings Percy Harvin but collided with his own teammate and defenseman Major Wright landing awkwardly on the turf.
It was soon obvious that Urlacher had hurt himself badly in the collision as he immediately covered his head with his hands. The medical staff tended to the stricken linebacker immediately and Urlacher was able to leave the field on his own.
At first it was revealed that Urlacher hurt himself very badly tearing both his PCL and MCL in the collision and would be looking at an eight to ten month rehabilitation program but scans on Monday revealed that the injury was not as bad as it looked.
The linebacker had just torn his MCL and with no major structural damage the injury would heal on its own.
Urlacher talked with the Chicago Tribune about his condition saying
"I was thinking the worse possible scenario,'' he said."I felt something pop in my knee when I did that little move on the ground. I never hurt my knee like that before so I didn't know what to think. (Trainer) Tim Bream was out there in two seconds. They
tested my ACL then and said it was fine.”
"They were right on. They said MCL/PCL was what they thought, and of course they were right. It’s pretty sore”
Urlacher can have as much time as he needs to recover as the Bears failed to make the postseason this year. The Bears after week 11 were on route to easily make the playoffs with a 7-3 record but injuries in offense to quarterback Jay Cutler and running
back Matt Forte hurt the Bears chances of making the playoffs rounds. The Bears lost five games in a row and blew away their chance of reaching the postseason.
The franchise snapped the losing streak against Minnesota Vikings but the game was a dead rubber as both teams had nothing left to play for in the regular season.
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