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All season long, Andrew Luck’s shoulder has been a lingering issue. Because it hasn’t caused him to miss time it hasn’t been seen as that big of a deal, but each week on the injury report there’s a reminder that the Colts are trying to manage the issue.
Luck has appeared on the injury report each week this year, and on all but one occasion it was at least in part due to his right shoulder. The only exception was when he missed the entire week with a concussion, meaning there was no chance for him to practice and even be limited with his shoulder in the first place. It’s caused him to be limited in a number of practices and even miss a few completely, but he’s been ready to go on gameday. This week, the question about his shoulder has come up once again, as he missed practice yesterday with soreness in his right shoulder and elbow after taking a beating in Sunday’s loss.
So NFL Media’s Ian Rappoport asked Colts owner Jim Irsay about it, and Irsay said that there’s “no plan for surgery, certainly not on his throwing shoulder.”
That’s worth noting, because some Colts fans have wondered whether Luck might have to undergo a procedure in the offseason to try to help his shoulder. It hasn’t been a major concern this year, but when the franchise quarterback is regularly limited with a right shoulder issue, it does raise at least some level of concern. But Irsay said there’s no plans for surgery for Luck. Hopefully that does prove to be the truth, and hopefully the Colts will be able to protect him better. They expect Luck to play this weekend despite his soreness, and he’s been taking such a beating this year that it’s no surprise he’s dealing with some soreness right now. They absoltuely must protect him better, and even though the Colts are almost out of it (perhaps especially because of that), they need to do it this weekend.