San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews will not play in the season opener – NFL News
After consistently giving the notion throughout his injury that he will be ready come the start of the season, running back Ryan Mathews has admitted that he will not be able to participate in San Diego Chargers Week 1 game against Oakland Raiders on Monday,
September 10, 2012.
Ryan has been rehabilitating his injured clavicle since he broke it during the first preseason game on August 09 against Green Bay Packers.
Mathews has been pushing himself hard since the last month to get fully fit before the start of the season. Speaking to U-T San Diego on Friday, September 07, Mathews said:
"I haven't been cleared for contact, and I think we're just going to wait this week. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing... I just have to have the mindset right. I probably won't be playing in this game. But the next game, that's what I'm looking
for now. I don't know about the team, but me personally, now I'm looking for that (Week 2) game against Tennessee."
Doctors along with Chargers medical team gave Mathews a timetable of four to six weeks for his road to recovery.
Mathews only returned to practice on Monday and has been doing some light workout while remaining a no-contact, hence keeping himself away from the regular team practice session.
Mathews remains on course to meet the team’s deadline for his rehabilitation schedule, but he will not be able to fulfil the target he had set. He went on and said:
“They just want to be on the cautious side. It's been a lot of hard work, but you can't do anything about it. You really can't.”
Mathews has regularly taken medications since getting a surgery on his clavicle on August 10, a day after getting injured. He has repeatedly taken calcium pills and bone growth simulators in order to get fit as soon as possible.
Mathews has been pushing himself so hard that even Chargers head athletic trainer James Collins asked him to refrain from following such tough routine.
Mathews was phenomenal last season, getting six touchdowns while covering 1,091 yards. Not having him on the field will greatly affect Chargers offensive output.
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