Jalen Hurts’ shoulder injury seems more aggravating than dangerous, sports medicine physician says

John Vasudevan has treated many football players with injuries similar to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ sprained shoulder. Vasudevan, a sports medicine doctor at Penn Medicine, did not examine Hurts, but based on the press reports thinks the shoulder injury is “more aggravating than dangerous.”

» READ MORE: Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts could miss next two games with sprained shoulder, NFL sources say

Hurts sprained his shoulder in the Eagles victory against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, head coach Nick Sirriani confirmed Tuesday morning. Sirianni told 94.1 WIP that the injury is “not something we deem to be long term.” He didn’t rule out Hurts for Saturday’s game against the Cowboys but according to NFL sources that seems unlikely.

A sprain is an injury of a ligament in the shoulder area, Vasudevan said.

When reading the coverage on Hurts’ shoulder, the physician didn’t hear any of the words that would concern him: fracture, tear, dislocation, or instability. Reports that the quarterback’s X-ray results were negative suggest that these more serious injuries have likely been ruled out, Vasudevan said.

“It’s a really common injury in football,” he said.

A shoulder sprain is painful, limits movement, and could bench a player for up to six weeks.

Eagles Tight End Dallas Goedert has been out for a month due to a shoulder injury, and even though he practiced ahead of the Bears game he didn’t play. Coaching staff cleared him to play today, Tuesday, ahead of the Cowboys game.

NFL sources told the Inquirer that Hurts will likely be sidelined for two weeks, which suggests he has a grade one or two sprain, Vasudevan said.

The big question for Hurts and the team’s doctors is whether the time his shoulder needs to heal aligns with the team’s needs in the final regular season games, Vasudevan said.

“It’s hard to rush nature,” he said.

He may be able to play through the injury at 80% or 90% for a few weeks and start as early as this Saturday. But Hurts and his doctors will need to decide whether it is better to give him more time to rest, so that he can get back to 100% for the play-offs.

“I bet you Jalen would love to start and see what he can do but [if his shoulder isn’t ready] it’s going to be up to the doctor to say, ‘you probably shouldn’t play just yet,’” Vasudevan said.