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Endangered Jaguar Boselli leaves game in third with knee injury
Posted: Sunday January 02, 2000 06:33 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars may have to prepare for the playoffs without their best player, Tony Boselli. The four-time Pro Bowl left tackle departed Sunday's 24-7 victory over the Bengals in the third quarter with an injury to his right knee. There was no contact on the play, but Boselli clutched his knee and fell to the ground. The initial diagnosis was a sprain. Boselli, considered by many the best tackle in the game, limped off the field and was scheduled for an MRI late Sunday. The team didn't release details of the injury and Boselli was not available for comment. Several people in the locker room believed Boselli had suffered a sprained anterior cruciate ligament and could return for the playoffs after Jacksonville's bye week. "It was scary," said receiver Keenan McCardell. "Right now, you don't want any injuries. You're in a single-elimination tournament and you've got to have your best players." Boselli wasn't the only one to go down. Right tackle Leon Searcy, also a Pro Bowl selection, left with a sprained ankle in the second quarter. He came back to the sideline, and soon after Boselli's injury, tried to sneak back onto the field. Coach Tom Coughlin pulled him back. "I wanted him on the sideline because we needed him in reserve if someone else got in trouble," Coughlin said. "I didn't want to send him out for the game and not have that benefit." The injury list also included Damon Jones (achilles), Fernando Bryant (hamstring), James Stewart (foot) and Tony Brackens (neck). Asked which injury concerned him the most, Coughlin was candid. "I'd think it's Boselli -- not knowing what it is," he said. Could he blame the field, which was in awful shape due to the Gator Bowl being played at Alltel Stadium on Saturday? "I don't know what to think," Coughlin said. "I didn't see it. I just saw him go down." With Mark Brunell still recovering from a strained knee ligament, the Jaguars head into the playoffs in less than stellar health. Without two healthy tackles to protect Brunell, they know their Super Bowl hopes could be damaged. "That's a concern," said veteran safety Carnell Lake. "You always want to protect your quarterback and those two are the best in the league right now. That's unfortunate, but that's the way it is."
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