Myles Garrett diagnosed with lateral foot sprain
By Thomas Moore
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett should be fine for the start of training camp after being diagnosed with a foot sprain, rather than something more serious.
The Cleveland Browns, defensive end Myles Garrett and Browns fans far and wide received some good news on Saturday.
Garrett’s left foot injury is not serious and he is expected to be ready for the start of training camp at the end of July.
The Browns released the news on their website after Garrett sought a second opinion:
"After being evaluated by Browns Head Team Physician, Dr. James Voos of University Hospitals and foot and ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson of OrthoCarolina, Myles Garrett has been diagnosed with a lateral foot sprain. He is expected to be ready for training camp."
Garrett injured his left foot on Wednesday during the second day of veteran minicamp. People started to get nervous because Garrett has missed practice time during Organized Team Activities, and his left foot was the same one that limited Garrett’s production last fall with a high ankle sprain.
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The anxiety level ratcheted up on Friday when Garrett was photographed at Cleveland-Hopkins Airport in a walking boot.
Turns out that the walking boot is standard operating procedure for this type of injury, according to the South Florida Institute of Sports Medicine:
"The Lisfranc’s, or tarsometatarsal joint, forms a bony arc across the midfoot. The diagnosis has been missed in up to 20% of cases. The mechanism of injury is often a misstep or fall with forced planterflexion of the forefoot on the rearfoot. Diffuse swelling across the midfoot is noted with ecchymosis, or bruising noted in the arch. X-ray of both feet can aid in subtle radiographic changes in the injured foot. If there is no displacement on X-ray noted but sprain is considered, an MRI without contrast of the foot will evaluate the integrity of the Lisfranc or medial cuneiform- second metatarsal ligament."
"If intact and no displacement or fractures are noted, nonweightbearing cast immobilization is standard treatment for approximately 6 weeks. If displacement or complete tear occurs, surgical reduction and fixation is recommended to stabilize and reduce the fracture. CT scans are utilized for evaluation for better visualization of osseus structures. Accurate anatomic reduction, whether open or closed, provides better functional results. Percutaneous wire or screw fixation to maintain alignment and congruity. If neglected, these injuries can cause chronic pain and necessitate fusion to prevent pain."
The six-week recovery time is coincidentally how long the Browns have until the start of training camp, which gives Garrett plenty of time for his foot to heal.
Cleveland made Garrett the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft after he finished his collegiate career averaging 10.3 sacks and 15.7 tackles for loss during his three seasons at Texas A&M. He also finished with 31 career sacks, which is the second most among SEC players during the past 10 years.
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The Browns need Garrett at his best as he will be the centerpiece of the rebuilt defense and having him on the field will make it a lot easier to improve on last year’s disastrous performance.
Everyone involved would clearly be happy to never talk about Garrett and walking boots in the same sentence ever again. But, all things considered, today’s news is about as good as it can get.