 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
'Existing condition' Cowboys' Ismail to miss season with neck injuryPosted: Tuesday August 20, 2002 3:44 PM
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Raghib Ismail will undergo neck surgery Wednesday to repair damage from a collision with a teammate last week in practice. Although he's likely to be out for the season, doctors said he should be able to continue his career. Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday he wasn't planning on immediately putting Ismail on injured reserve, which would end his season, because he hadn't yet talked to the receiver. But Jones made it clear "we're not planning on him playing this year." Dr. Dan Cooper described the injury as a huge herniated disk. The problem is made worse by the fact Ismail has a relatively small spinal canal, although Cooper said it's not the same chronic narrowing that contributed to the end of Michael Irvin's career. Ismail will have the disk removed and the two vertebra around it fused together. It will be done by Dr. Drew Dossett, who has performed the same procedure on many pro athletes, including former Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston. Johnston's career continued after his operation and Cooper expects Ismail to play again, too. "As long as the surgery is successful and he heals, he could return to football," Cooper said. Ismail, 32, would have been playing his 10th season, fourth in Dallas. His last two seasons were also marred by injury, including a torn knee ligament in 2000. "We haven't seen anybody work harder to rehab and come back from his knee surgery, so it's quite a disappointment for him and his wife," Jones said. The Cowboys were counting on Ismail and Joey Galloway to provide speedy targets in the West Coast-style offense being implemented by new coordinator Bruce Coslet. Rookie Antonio Bryant is likely to replace Ismail in the starting lineup. Ismail was hurt last Wednesday when linebacker Dat Nguyen kneed him while trying to avoid a collision. Ismail was down for a few minutes, then walked to the locker room with trainers. He didn't return to practice and was held out of a preseason game Saturday night. The Cowboys initially listed the injury as a strain, then became more concerned when he reported tingling and numbness in his arm. He returned to Dallas on Monday for further exams. Ismail was a huge star running and receiving at Notre Dame, but has never lived up to his promise in the pros. He began his career in the CFL, then came to the NFL in 1993 with the Raiders. He didn't become a starter until 1995 and didn't have a 1,000-yard season until 1998, his third year in Carolina after three years with the Raiders. He parlayed his success with the Panthers into a contract with Dallas and in his first season responded with career highs for catches (80) and yards (1,097). His most memorable moment as a Cowboy probably came in his first game, when he caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from Troy Aikman in overtime to beat the Redskins in Washington. He had 53 catches for 834 yards and two touchdowns last season.
"We thought Rocket was probably our most productive offensive player last year," Jones said.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Jerry Jones expresses his disappointment over Raghib Ismail's injury. 
