Colvin promises he will play again
By MICHAEL PARENTE
Special to The Register Citizen
FOXBORO - Amidst reports that his career might be over, New England Patriots' linebacker Rosevelt Colvin spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday since undergoing hip surgery and made it clear that he plans on making a full recovery.
"It's frustrating that everything I've done from the end of last season until now is to no avail," Colvin said, "but I'm a strong Christian. I've got my faith and my family and I'll put it in front of me until the day I die. I don't think it'll change. I just have some stepping stones to get over."
Colvin, who was the Patriots' top free-agent acquisition in the off-season, suffered a fractured left hip two weeks ago in a win over the Philadelphia Eagles. After seeking out opinions from several different doctors last week, Colvin had surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Friday and was placed on injured reserve on Monday.
When news of Colvin's fractured left hip surfaced, the first name that came to mind was Bo Jackson, the pro baseball and football standout who suffered a hip injury in 1991 that eventually ended his career.
Jackson's hip came out of the socket, cutting the blood supply. The loss of blood flow to the hip area resulted in a condition known as avascular necrosis, which led to the deterioration of the cartilage and bone around his left hip joint. Within a year, after numerous treatments failed, doctors replaced his hip with an artificial one.
Jackson made a comeback in 1993, but was out of professional sports the following year after a strike ended the '94 baseball season. Colvin's agent, Kennard McGuire, confirmed that his client did not suffer from a similar condition, and reiterated that he will be back on the field next season.
"We try to follow the team protocol without really speaking on this," McGuire said, "but we want to cut to the chase so that there is not any speculation out there. We do expect him to be out there playing next year."
Other NFL players have suffered hip injuries during the past year and have made successful returns. Detroit Lions' wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim injured his hip in November of 2002, and while the original diagnosis seemed similar to the injury that ended Jackson's career, a lack of damage to the nerves and blood vessels allowed him to recover quickly. Hakim's hip is fine, but he suffered a knee injury during the summer that has kept him out of all but one game this season.
Kansas City running back Priest Holmes suffered a hip injury last season that forced him to miss the final two games, but he knew immediately that it wasn't as severe as Jackson's. Holmes had simple arthroscopic surgery in which two small holes were cut into the muscle outside the hip. He's played in all three games this year and has 296 yards and seven touchdowns.
Colvin's injury appears to be less serious. He claimed that he did not know whether or not he suffered a subluxation, which Dr. Rick Herman from WBCN 104.1 FM described as a "worst-case scenario" on Sunday. Kennard, however, said it was a fracture on the bone, not the socket or the joint, and that the bone chip was repaired - a relatively "smooth" process.
"I'm not for sure. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a surgeon," Colvin said. "I just know something wasn't correct, something wasn't normal. When they went it they said that something wasn't normal, something wasn't right and what I felt was correct. We went in and they tried to help me the best they could."
A subluxation is a partial dislocation of the hip with enough force to damage the hip joint, but not enough to totally dislocate it. It's a common injury among automobile accident victims, also known as a "dashboard injury," because the knee jams into the dashboard and chips off part of the hip bone. According to Herman, not many athletes return from subluxations because of the damage to the hip joint, but a simple fracture like the one Kennard described is the best-case scenario. With that in mind, Herman said that Colvin could play again with proper rehabilitation.
In defense of head coach Bill Belichick, who was criticized for claiming to not know the extent of Colvin's injury last Wednesday, Colvin and Kennard confirmed that the surgery was exploratory in nature. The surgeons opened him up to determine what was wrong, discovered the bone chip and removed it, according to Kenard.
"We took a lot of tests," Colvin said. "With any injury, we just wanted to make sure everything was what it was and we knew all the facts before we jumped to a decision. The coaches position is to put the team in the best position to win. What he was telling you was true. We were still taking tests and trying to figure what was going on. I don't think he was trying to elude you.
"I've always been cool with the media and I've never had a problem. A lot times the media thinks that people have to tell them everything or tell them everything or tell exactly what's going on. We really don't. If coach went out there and was extremely concerned with my situation and they went out there and blew the Jets game, then every paper in America or in the New England area would be writing 'Now that Rosevelt Colvin's gone the Patriots are going to be the worst team in America'"
Colvin said he is not in a cast and does not need a wheelchair to get around. He has a lot of free time on his hands and plans on spending it with his family. On Sundays, though, he'll be glued to the television set, cheering on his teammates, who have supported him tremendously throughout this whole ordeal.
Colvin, who had never missed any time in his career due to injury before this season, admitted that not being able to play is difficult to stomach. With help from family and friends, he hopes the rehab process will by as quickly as possible.
"I'm doing everything but walking," Colvin said. "I'm playing with my kids. I'm going to do that. I'm going to play with my kids. As soon as I walk through the door I'm going to have my kids in my hands. That's not a problem. I'm sleeping alright. My wife is laying next to me. I'm cool. My mother's here. I'm getting hugs and kisses. I think I'll be alright."