According to FOX’s Jay Glazer, Peyton Manning has opted for a less conventional and more painful procedure to fuse the damaged cervical vertebrae in his neck.
The procedure entailed taking a chunk of bone from Manning’s hip to fuse the C2 the C3 vertebrae. (It is a more common practice to use the cadaver bone.)
Theoretically, this aggressive process could cut Manning’s time from six months or more, to as little as six to eight weeks, several doctors have told FOXSports.com. But nothing is for certain as he underwent surgery on May 23 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to repair a bulging disk in his neck. At that time, he was expected to have a six- to eight-week recovery period. But as Manning recovered, he continued to feel pain and weakness in his neck and upper back, as well as weakness in his triceps.
With Manning’s decision, it is an obvious sign that he is looking to get back on the field sooner than later, however if his recovery doesn’t go accordingly, at some point, I think they will have to shut Manning down for the season, placing him on injured reserve and allowing him time to completely heal.
And when he heals, he’ll play for the Colts, a team for which he has played since 1998. Which means that they’ll be paying him another $28 million next March.
