Linebacker broke scapula during warm-ups against Arizona Cardinals
Green Bay - The pain was excruciating, far worse than the broken scapula Frank Zombo suffered in pregame warm-ups at Lambeau Field Friday night.
It was the phone call letting the Green Bay Packers linebacker know he had suffered the fracture that hurt so much more.
In fact, Zombo played through the injury against the Arizona Cardinals thinking that he had suffered a bruise. The fact his arm was slightly numb and hanging more than usual off his left shoulder was something he tried to ignore.
"I was just going through normal drills and I got hit in the back by a helmet," Zombo said as he struggled to put on his shirt and the sling that was to go over it. "My arm kind of went numb, but I just played. I guess it was just adrenaline.
"Afterwards, I didn't think much about it, but I wanted to get it looked at."
On the way home, Zombo got a call from someone on the medical staff telling him tests had shown he had broken his scapula, or as it's more commonly named, the shoulder blade.
"Unbelievable," Zombo said, adding that he doesn't blame the perpetrator, fullback John Kuhn, for the accidental collision.
"It's not his fault," he said. "It's just unlucky."
The most recent Packer to suffer a shoulder blade fracture was tight end Spencer Havner, who broke it in a motorcycle accident. The prognosis for recovery for him was four to six weeks, but it ended up taking longer. The other notable shoulder blade break was to safety LeRoy Butler in 2001. It ended his career after 12 years.
Assuming the four-to-six week time period, Zombo might not be back on the field until October.
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The Packers would appear to be in a bind from a depth standpoint because Jones suffered a sprained knee in the same game and might not play this week against Indianapolis. But undrafted rookies Vic So'oto and Jamari Lattimore have had solid camps and are trying to hook on the same way Zombo did last year.
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"It showed his toughness. We're looking to get him back as soon as possible."