That’s crushing. New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas will go on injured reserve and undergo surgery on his foot, head coach Dennis Allen said Thursday.
Allen clarified that Thomas dislocated the second toe in his foot and that treatment was ineffective. After team doctors reviewed a recent MRI scan, Allen said “The toe did not respond how we were hoping. … It hadn’t healed the way everybody was kind of hoping that it would.”
The team was initially optimistic Thomas could rest the injury for three or four weeks and return. Now Thomas will go under the knife with what’s likely a season-ending surgery ahead of him. Allen added “I don’t anticipate he’ll be able to return this year.”
It’s a crushing blow for Thomas, who spent the last six weeks on the 53-man roster hoping the injury would heal on its own. But he’s following the advice of team doctors in taking this path and there doesn’t appear to be any disconnect between the team and the player. Hopefully he can return in the spring and pick up where he left off next year. Thomas caught 16 passes to gain 171 yards in his first three games, and his 3 touchdown receptions still lead the team going into Week 9.