By Tom James
INDIANAPOLIS — The injury bug continues to haunt the Indianapolis Colts. Team officials confirmed today that cornerback Marlin Jackson has been placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Jackson, who missed the second half of the 2008 season after injuring his right knee during practice, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee during a non-contact drill on Wednesday. He had been rehabbing the left knee for the past four weeks after he was hurt against Seattle on Oct. 4.
Indianapolis' other veteran cornerback, Kelvin Hayden, is also expected to be sidelined for the next three to four weeks after he incurred a sprained knee during last week's 18-14 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Hayden is not expected to undergo surgery.
Wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, meanwhile, underwent arthroscopic surgery Thursday to clean out loose particles in his right knee. Gonzalez suffered a sprained ligament in the knee during the Colts' season-opening win over Jacksonville. He had hoped to be back in time for next week's home game with New England.
The Colts' 2007 first-round draft pick had begun light positional work last week, where he apparently suffered a setback in his recovery. A date for his return to practice has yet to be determined.
"We haven't quite gotten [a date for his return] yet, but I'm assuming that probably within the next couple of days we will have it. But I haven't got the prognosis yet," Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell said Friday.
Strong safety Bob Sanders is out indefinitely after he suffered an elbow injury against the 49ers last week. Sanders is expected to undergo surgery on the elbow, although a date for the medical procedure as yet to be announced.
He had just returned to the Colts' lineup a week earlier against the St. Louis Rams after missing the first five games of the year after undergoing offseason knee surgery. Sanders visited with nationally recognized sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday in order to gather additional information.
"There's going to be a determination [on how long he will be out] pretty quickly," Caldwell said. "That will be within the next 24 hours. It will be pretty fast. He's going to have to have something done. [It's just a matter of] how long it's going to be after the [surgical] process is over."
Rookie running back Donald Brown's availability for the Houston game has yet to be decided. Brown incurred a left shoulder contusion in the Rams game on Oct. 25. He did not practice last week or play against the 49ers. Brown, though, has been able to take part in the team's workouts the past two days.
Indianapolis has also announced a roster move as defensive end Josh Thomas has returned to the team for the second time this season. Thomas originally played with the Colts from 2004-08, starting 12 of the 68 games in which he participated. He was brought back briefly during training camp in August.
More information on this story will be available in Saturday's Tribune-Star and on www.tribstar.com
