Gross in good spirits after surgery on broken leg

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- For a guy who snapped both the bones in his lower right leg eight days prior, Jordan Gross was in pretty good spirits Monday.

The Panthers left tackle, who went on injured reserve after suffering a broken tibia and fibula on Nov. 15 against Atlanta, was back in the locker room cracking jokes and visiting with teammates Monday.

His outlook was good for his recovery, and said he is looking forward to being around as much as he can. But considering the extent of his injury, that's amazing in and of itself. What was originally announced as a broken ankle was actually higher up the leg, and more serious. Team doctors Robert Anderson and Pat Connor performed surgery on Gross hours after the end of the Falcons game, inserting a titanium rod, plate and screws to fix what Gross called “a perfect break.” It was good that it was above the ankle, and that there was no soft-tissue damage, but that didn't take away from the grisly nature.

“When I heard it pop, it was like ‘ooh,'” Gross said. “Everyone hears it pop and everyone panics, so I was like ‘Don't panic.' Then I rolled out, and from below my calf down was pointing out to the right. So I figured, I mean I'm not a doctor but I figured it wasn't good. ...

“I heard it looked nasty, and they said I didn't scream too bad, so I improved my street cred a little.”

Gross had missed just one start in the previous six seasons before the injury, but accepted this one with a shrug.

“It's part of it,” he said. “I've been lucky for a long time to not have anything major happen. I guess it was my turn. The rest of me will probably feel great next season, having a shortened year like this.”

The jokes were coming easily Monday, as he cracked about the way he asked for a second opinion after seeing the clear-cut X-rays at the stadium, about his future “metal-detector issues,” and how his perception of injured players has changed lately.

“You always make fun of the IR guys and say they have the best life ever,” Gross said. “Until you're one of them and you say you'd rather be doing your job.”

Gross said he will have to stay in a cast for another week, then he will be in a walking boot and on crutches for another six weeks. He said in three months, he should be cleared for anything, though he anticipates the team will “probably baby me through” minicamps and offseason workouts. But he said Anderson — one of the country's top foot and ankle specialists — assured him early on that his recovery would be complete. Gross said he has “no concerns at all,” about next season. “Once it heals up, they say it'll be stronger than before, because I'll have titanium down in there,” he said.

He was hoping to be back on the sidelines for last Thursday's game, but quickly realized that wasn't feasible after his two-night hospital stay left him with some considerable pain issues.

“I still have stuff to do; I don't feel like IR's a free pass to be gone. I'm going to try to help as much as I can,” he said. “Honestly, from over the weekend I felt a million times better. I couldn't stand up too long without it throbbing and everything before. I couldn't have done it.

“If they'd have played Sunday I could have done it, but Thursday would have been too much. It wouldn't have been good for anybody to see me struggling. I wanted to wait until I was good.”

INJURY UPDATE — Fullback Brad Hoover said after running Friday and Monday, he thinks he might be sufficiently healed from his high right ankle sprain to play this week.

That would be a boon to the Panthers running game, which has clearly missed the lead blocker. He has been out since the Nov. 1 Arizona game, and the Panthers have had to scramble with rookie Tony Fiammetta and Tyrell Sutton filling for him while he has rehabbed.