Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor underwent surgery this week to repair a torn UCL in his right thumb, and his recovery time reportedly is 3-5 weeks.
Though the initial report stated the Colts were hopeful the recovery time would be closer to 2-3 weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Sunday morning that Taylor is likely to miss roughly a month and maybe a bit more.
Rapoport also reported that while Taylor was able to finish the Week 12 game despite the injury, the only course of action was surgery to avoid future issues.
On Wednesday, hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles operated on Taylor, repairing the torn UCL in his thumb. Despite playing the second half of last week’s win over the Bucs with the injury, surgery was the only answer and not a choice, sources say.
Here’s why: The ligament tore off the base of the thumb and flipped on top of the tendon, sources say. Once that happens, the only way to avoid a loose tendon in the future is to have surgery to tuck the ligament back under the tendon so it can function. Immediate surgery was a necessity.
The surgery included the use of an internal brace, which reportedly reduced the recovery time from a matter of months to weeks. That timeline of 3-5 weeks would have Taylor returning at the end of the regular season.
3-5 weeks of missed time for Taylor (surgery 11/29) would come with these games:
-at Titans
-at Bengals
-Steelers
-at Falcons (3.5 weeks post surgery)
-Raiders
-Texans (5.5 weeks post surgery) https://t.co/xzqawvmqdL— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) December 3, 2023
With Taylor on the mend for the next month, the Colts will lean on Zack Moss once again. Moss filled in as the starter in the backfield when Taylor started the season on the PUP list.
Moss didn’t play in Week 1 as he recovered from a broken forearm he suffered in training camp. He took over the starting role in Week 2 and was stellar for the next two months.
Moss led the NFL in rushing yards (615) from Weeks 2-9 even after Taylor essentially took the starting role back in Week 8. Moss still ranks No. 10 in rushing yards entering Week 13 despite playing in a change-of-pace role over the last month.
The Colts are in the middle of a playoff push so this likely isn’t the last time we’ve seen Taylor this season, but the Colts are comfortable leaning on Moss while their star running back recovers.
