San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon could be back this season despite being carted off with a hip injury in the team’s 28-16 loss against the Carolina Panthers.
Melvin Gordon ‘hopeful’ he’ll be back this season for Chargers despite hip injury
Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said Gordon is “day to day.”
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Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
He won’t return for Week 15, however. While the chance Gordon could return this season remains intact, he will be out for this week’s game against the Raiders, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Gordon underwent an MRI Monday, and Chargers coach Mike McCoy provided an update afterward:
However, Gordon is making a push to return to the field, according to Ian Rapoport. The second-year running back is just 3 rushing yards shy of reaching the 1,000-yard mark this season.
The former first-round draft pick is optimistic his 2016 won’t end on the back of an injury cart.
“I’m very hopeful,” Gordon told Chargers.com. “It’s alright. It is what it is. I’m going to take it day by day…It’s the beast of the game. We all kind of know how it goes. You can’t hang your head down too low. That won’t do anything for me.”
Gordon was injured in the first quarter when Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis hit him in the back while the running back was trying to recover Philip Rivers’ fumble.
Gordon left the game with 5 yards on three carries. Chargers backup running back Kenneth Farrow came in for Gordon and finished the game with 55 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Rivers thinks Gordon has a bright future after a rocky rookie season that ended with the first-round pick undergoing knee surgery.
“Hopefully he can get healthy enough to get back this year, and if not, he’ll be ready to roll to build on this season next year,” Rivers said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s tough to see him go down. I’m glad that he is OK in the sense of it’s nothing too, too bad, I don’t think. But you hate to lose him.”
Gordon looked rejuvenated in his sophomore season. So far this season, he has totaled 997 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground and 419 yards and two touchdowns through the air. It looks as if San Diego has found its running back for the future.
The Chargers host the Raiders in Week 15. If Gordon is on the field, he’ll face a defense that gives up an average of 120.2 rushing yards per game.
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