When Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen was forced out of last Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, we knew he had an ankle injury that had him in a walking boot when he left the stadium.
That wasn’t the full extent of Allen’s injuries, however. The Chargers announced Tuesday that Allen also broke his collarbone during the game.
Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego reports that Allen played with the injury for some portion of the Broncos game and that the team didn’t know about the injury until Allen complained of a sore shoulder on Monday.
The team says he’s not expected to play against the 49ers on Saturday and it would be a surprise if Allen is back for the Week 17 game against the Chiefs whether or not the Chargers are still vying for a playoff spot. Injuries vary from player to player, but broken collarbones are typically difficult for any player, even ones that play through the injury initially, to come back from in a couple of weeks.
Allen had just five catches for 21 yards in the last two games, but was on pace for nearly 100 catches and more than 1,000 yards before that downturn. Even with his yards per catch down, it was a solid followup to a strong rookie season in 2013 and Allen should have a prime role in the 2015 offense.
Without him in one the next two weeks, the Chargers are going to have a difficult time extending their season.
