Some good Luck coming

WITH the fantasy playoffs just over the horizon, there still is a lot to be decided. With injuries, there is never an offseason, and timing is everything.

Sammy Watkins returned, only to have more soreness in his foot. Adrian Peterson is back at practice and could ramp things up quickly in the Vikings’ long week of practice. Jamaal Charles is ramping up his rehab and could come ba c k late in t he season.

Yes, there are a lot of players lurking, stashed on rosters in hopes they will push your team over the top. It is not a bad strategy, but it also is not one you can count on. The hope of an injury return relies not only on the player and the situation, but on the function of the injury itself. Watkins has an injury that often recurs, and Peterson and Charles have injuries that don’t. Knowledge is power, right? So here’s a little knowledge on three key injuries:

Concussions are like snowflakes, but with better than a week to come back from a concussion that showed very minimal symptoms, not only will

Andrew Luck play this week as normal, but also he could have played last week. Expect Luck to play normally and effectively. I would say the Colts should focus on keeping him upright and away from hits, but they’ve shown no ability to do that all year.

We’re seeing more and more foot and ankle issues in the NFL, but there’s very little research into why. My theory is that the new shoes are too good. In 30 years we’ve gone from Chuck Taylors to Marty McFly’s self-lacing boots, Curry Ones, and who knows what other technologies, but the foot is the same one we have had for centuries. Evolution doesn’t happen that fast, even in the NFL. For Sammy

Watkins’ Jones fractuce, the question is pain management and dealing with the swelling that seems like it will need offseason surgery. Watkins should play, but he’s very risky.

Trevor Siemian can look to his left and see Paxton Lynch, the guy team president John Elway sees as the future. Add in a mid foot sprain that has Siemian in a walking boot as late as Thursday, and you can imagine why the Broncos made the decision to sit Siemian this week. This doesn’t look to be a long-term issue, but Siemian’s future is very up in the air already, so a foot injury isn’t going to help his stability, in either sense of the word.

Will Carroll writes about injuries. You can read more of his work on All22.com. He lives near Indianapolis.