Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith needs surgery to repair an avulsion fracture in his left knee and could miss 12 weeks, NFL Network reported.
Smith, 31, left Wednesday’s practice with what was thought to be a severe hamstring injury. Testing revealed the hamstring tendon behind the knee separated from the bone, creating the fracture, per reports.
Smith, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, did not damage his ACL.
The injury occurred during an 11-on-11 drill, when Smith buckled while attempting to make a block on linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, according to multiple reports. Smith walked off the field, and he later walked out of the locker room without a limp and with no knee brace or sleeve, the Cowboys’ website reported.
Left guard Connor McGovern said, according to the Dallas Morning News,”I was in pass protect, and all the sudden, I see him on the ground. I didn’t even care … where the ball was downfield. I instantly just went to him.
“You saw literally everyone on the offense, even defensive guys, running over there. When a guy like that goes down — it doesn’t even matter who it is, this team is so close. Everyone is trying to get over there and see if they’re all right and get them back up.”
McGovern added that he later interacted with Smith in the locker room.
“He gave me a nice, reassuring grunt like he usually does,” McGovern said, according to the Morning News. “That’s one thing, playing next to him for so long, I can decipher his grunts. ‘I think he’s all right.'”
Smith, 31, is a two-time All-Pro. In 11 seasons with the Cowboys, he has started all 144 games he has played. Neck surgery cost him all but two games in 2020, and ankle injuries and time on the COVID list limited him to 11 games last year.
–Field Level Media