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Lions post-week 12 medical report and analysis

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Aside from a possible long-term injury to Kalif Raymond, early indications are that the Lions had a fairly healthy game vs the Colts. There were some minor scares though which could still impact the Thanksgiving game.

The Lions released an estimated injury report on Monday due to the short week game on Thanksgiving. All the players below had a “No Practice (NP)” on Monday.

DJ Reader also had an NP due to an illness. Terrion Arnold returned to a “Full Practice” with his groin. Arnold hurt his groin during practice last week and missed the Colts game.

Dan Campbell on Monday stated: “There’s probably three of them that [might not play]… It’s going to come down to the wire. The good news is that most of these are not a long-term thing.” Campbell specifically mentioned Taylor Decker, Carlton Davis, Kalif Raymond, and Amon-Ra St. Brown as possibly missing the Thanksgiving game.

Here are the injuries along with suspected diagnoses.

Kalif Raymond – left foot or toe sprain 3q 7:41

Raymond awkwardly lands hard on his left foot with hyperextended toes. The concerns here include a Lisfranc or turf toe injury with a turf toe being preferable. There are 26 bones in the foot so a lot of other things are possible.

A Lisfranc injury is a sprain or fracture of the midfoot area. Even a mild Lisfranc can be a 4-8 week recovery. A severe Lisfranc can be a career changer as Lions fans have seen in the past with Kevin Jones and Ameer Abdullah.

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Taylor Decker – right MCL & right ankle sprain 3q 6:00

Decker was rolled up on here. The right ankle externally rotated which can cause a high ankle sprain. The right knee also appeared to bend inward slightly causing an MCL sprain. He left the game but was able to return the next drive which suggests mild severity.

While there is no long-term concern, even a mild MCL or high ankle sprain can lead to missed games.

On the Monday report, Decker was listed only with a knee and not an ankle.

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David Montgomery – mild right shoulder contusion 3q 4:32

A direct blow to the right shoulder caused Montgomery to exit the game and not return. He stated after the game that he could have played if necessary which suggests there was no significant damage to the shoulder. A contusion or AC joint sprain are possible.

Based on Montgomery’s postgame comments and body language, the expectation is that he will be playing on Thanksgiving.

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Carlton Davis – left knee area strain 4q 10:18

The non-contact injury to the knee with a slight valgus (inward) buckling can be seen with ACL tears. We saw this on video last year with Emmanuel Moseley and Nate Sudfeld. Fortunately, early signs are that Davis does not have an ACL tear. Video showed the orthopedist performing the Lachman ACL test which he passed.

It’s unlikely he has any other significant knee ligament damage either. A meniscus tear is also unlikely but an MRI will be obtained to confirm.

I’m suspecting a strain of one of the muscles or tendons attaching to the posterior knee area. Early signs are that the injury is minor.

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Amon-Ra St. Brown – knee

St. Brown is surprisingly listed on the Monday injury report with a knee injury. I reviewed the game video and nothing jumped out. He looked to have no issues during the game and played until the end of the 4th quarter. I’m not expecting anything serious at this point and think there is a good chance he will be available on Thanksgiving.

UPDATE: After his punt return in the 4th quarter, he had a slight limp and reached for the right lateral knee and upper calf area. Hopefully, it’s just a mild muscle strain or knee contusion. He finished the game without obvious issues.

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