Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said he was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 26-year-old sat out practice again Friday and had a thick layer of athletic tape wrapped over his right cleat as he worked through exercises with a trainer on the campus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Herbert, who suffered the injury last Sunday in a win over the Carolina Panthers, is “doing everything necessary” to play Sunday, coach Jim Harbaugh said, but the quarterback could not commit to whether he expected to take the field at Acrisure Stadium.
“Thankfully it’s only Friday,” Herbert said, standing with most of his weight on his left foot.
Herbert said the pain is “not great, but it is what it is.” He’s working around the clock with ice and compression to keep the swelling down and manage pain.
Herbert said he “got rolled up on” against the Panthers but was able to finish the game. It was a “prognostically favorable” sign that Herbert’s ankle was structurally stable enough to return to the field, said Alexander Peterson, an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in foot and ankle injuries with Keck Medicine of USC.
After doctors determine the stability of the ankle, pain management becomes the main focus.
“With a high ankle sprain, there’s still the ambiguity of return-to-play timeline,” Peterson said.
The high ankle sprain generally “comes with a higher price” than its lower counterparts, Peterson said, because of the ligaments involved. Three major high ankle ligaments hold the two lower leg bones, the tibia and fibula, together above the ankle, which then keeps the ankle bone in place.
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A high ankle sprain that damages the ligaments could allow the ankle bone to move freely, causing pain or damage to the cartilage. Low ankle sprains result in less instability and tend to recover faster than high ankle sprains, which can nag for weeks or months, even without surgery.
Athletes also can work through low ankle sprains with specific tape application, Peterson said, while tape has less of an effect on high ankle sprains.
Herbert, who drops back and plants his right foot while throwing, is no stranger to playing through injury. He missed only one play despite a fractured rib in 2022 and played through a broken finger on his left hand last season. The four games he missed last season because of a broken right index finger were the first injury-related absences of Herbert’s NFL career.
He will assess how his ankle feels leading up to the game and work with coaches and training staff to determine whether he could face the Steelers, who have the second-stingiest scoring defense in the NFL behind the Chargers.
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“If I step foot on the field, I want to feel comfortable and know that I’m in a safe place,” Herbert said. “Understanding that there are inherent risks while playing football, but being able to defend yourself, move around and not take unnecessary hits. I think as long as I’m able to do that, then I think the game plan is open.”
Because he participated in just one practice this week, Herbert’s only exposure to the game plan would be through mental reps and film study. He was limited to light throwing Wednesday.
“I know that the game plan is complex,” Herbert said, “but we’ve done such a great job working through it and talking through it that I feel us three quarterbacks are able to pick it up.”
The Chargers have Easton Stick and Taylor Heinicke behind Herbert. Harbaugh said Wednesday that Stick, who played in three preseason games, would start in Herbert’s place, but the coach didn’t confirm the plan when asked again Friday.
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Stick started four games last season when Herbert was injured and went 0-4. He also struggled during the preseason, which prompted a trade to add Heinicke.
Since joining the Chargers after training camp, Heinicke has spent the last three weeks learning a complex offense that at first had him tongue-tied just calling out a play. But Harbaugh and Herbert praised the former Atlanta and Washington quarterback’s ability to catch up quickly.
“I haven’t seen anybody get this up to speed as Taylor has,” Harbaugh said. “It’s been outstanding.”
Stick was the backup for the first two games while Heinicke was inactive as the emergency third quarterback.
Etc.
Linebacker Junior Colson (hamstring) is the only Charger ruled out Sunday. The rookie who has handled some defensive play-calling duties in a three-man rotation with Denzel Perryman and Daiyan Henley suffered his injury against the Panthers. … Outside linebacker Bud Dupree (illness), receiver Joshua Palmer (elbow/calf), safety Alohi Gilman (knee) and cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor (fibula) are questionable.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
