ESPN reports Freeney has torn ligament
Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney has a torn ligament in his right ankle, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Meanwhile the Colts claim that Freeney has a low-ankle sprain -- not a torn ligament.
“He is under the care of our athletic training staff,” [Colts spokesman Craig] Kelley said. “Nothing we have seen changes our diagnosis that he is questionable. He has a third-degree, low basketball sprain.”
Freeney has been in South Florida since Friday to start treatments on his ankle and he has been using a hyperbaric chamber.
"Dwight is one of our best players, we know that," Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said from the Pro Bowl. "But all season long Coach Caldwell has talked about picking up the bayonet. Someone's got to step up. If Dwight were not to be able to go that would be tough, but somebody else will step up and we'll feel confident in whoever that is."
If Freeney can't play, that would likely mean a larger role for Raheem Brock.
“I’m sure he’ll give it a go,’’ a source of Mike Chappell from the Indianapolis Star said of Freeney.
One of the keys for both teams in Super Bowl XLIV will be to apply pressure on the opposing quarterback as both Manning and Drew Brees of New Orleans are as deadly accurate as any quarterback in the league. With completion percentages of 70.6 and 68.8 percent, Brees and Manning finished first and second in the NFL, respectively.
Earlier in the week, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said of Manning, “This guy’s got a great clock in his head. The big thing is that he throws the ball so early that we’re going to have to do a good job of finding ways to get to him and when we do get to him we’re going to have to make sure he gets a couple ‘remember me’ shots when we get there ...”
Brees and Manning have been sacked only 20 and 10 times this season, respectively.
Freeney led the Colts and finished third in the league in sacks this season with 13.5 while teammate Robert Mathis finished with 9.5 sacks this year.
