September 30, 2015
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, after meeting with Dr. James Andrews, it has been determined that Kiko Alonso's injury is not as bad as some originally feared, and he will return this season, likely "after a month of rehab."
Source: Following a 2nd opinion, #Eagles LB Kiko Alonso's ACL was deemed intact. He'll play again this season, likely after a month of rehab
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 30, 2015
#Eagles LB Kiko Alonso is down in FL with Dr James Andrews, who provided the final word & cleared up the picture. Not as bad as once thought
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 30, 2015
Chip Kelly hinted earlier in the day that Alonso's injury wasn't season-ending, as he noted that the Eagles were not going to put him either on IR (which would end Alonso's season) or IR with the designation to return, which would put him out for at least eight weeks.
In more good news on the inside linebacker front, Kelly said that Kendricks made it through a full day of practice yesterday, but the Eagles would continue to evaluate him as the week progressed.
In Alonso's absence, the Eagles have gotten terrific play from rookie inside linebacker Jordan Hicks. When asked yesterday if the Eagles were comfortable taking time bringing back injured starters when their backups are playing well, Bill Davis said it wouldn't affect their timetables for return, but could affect their playing time.
"I think when a starter is ready to come back, you put him back in there," said Davis. "It's great, the experience that the guy that comes in [gets], especially when they play well. You might up the rotation and say, ‘Okay, the starter that is coming back from injury, you're not going to play all of the snaps because your backup did a nice job.’ Defensively, in this system, we are built to rotate and roll all positions when we can and we do because of the snaps. So it's a great advantage for us to have that, but it may affect a number of snaps, but not the starter. The starter is the starter."
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