Urlacher May Have to Play Through Pain All Season

Over 7 months have passed since Brian Urlacher sprained two ligaments in his left knee. Since then he has had surgery and done everything the doctors have told him to do. He thought he would be 100% by now, but is now realizing that the recovery process may be slower at this point in his career.

The 34 year-old, eight-time Pro Bowler Linebacker met with team doctors and trainers on Monday and decided to undergo a minor surgery on Tuesday morning to clean everything out. Both the Bears and Urlacher still have the September 9th opener as their goal in mind, but both parties realize it’s more important to make sure he is doesn’t push it too soon. They are in this position because he did too much too soon at the beginning of camp, since he felt so good.

There is a lot of hype in Bears camp this fall, and rightfully so. With Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery in the fold, along with Hester, Bennett and Knox, Jay Cutler has the weapons to have a Pro Bowl season. However, the team is counting on that perennial lock down defense they’ve become accustomed to be their stabilizing force once again. That defense revolves around Brian Urlacher. He has been their fearless leader for over a decade and the team isn’t ready to transition from that quite yet.

UPDATE: It has now been reported that Urlacher has had one or two similar procedures done since the initial surgery in January. This furthers the concern that the knee could bug him the entire season.

*Photo by planetexpress on Flickr*