Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant (88) gets his right ankle worked on by trainers while on the bench in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
At this rate, every recovery time imaginable has been reported for Dez Bryant's broken metatarsal -- from four weeks, to six weeks, to as many as 12 weeks.
To hear it from Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones, there's no way to know for sure. Bryant underwent surgery on his broken foot, and the rest sounds simply like a waiting game.
"The facts are, it's just that -- no one knows. It has to do with the individual," Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 FM The Fan. "The repair went well, and so Dez is of course Superman when it comes to being physical, but on the other hand, we want it to repair well. So we'll just see how it goes."
That won't stop anyone from trying to forecast a return for Bryant, which is understandable. After all, the All-Pro receiver led the league in receiving touchdowns last fall and is arguably the Cowboys' top player.
Jones said the traditional healing period for a broken bone is six weeks, which gives some kind of timetable for Bryant. But he once again added that there are variables that could lead to a quicker or slower recovery time.
At the very least, Jones said Bryant should be able to begin moving around on the foot in short order.
"It takes a bone six weeks to fully recover, and we've had players with foot injuries that did not wait until the six-week period of time before they were functional and before they were able to play," he said. He'll be able to be conditioning, things of that nature as early as two-to-three weeks into his rehab."
If it takes six weeks for a full recovery, it's possible Bryant could be ready for a return when the Cowboys travel to New York for a rematch against the Giants -- one week after the team's Week 6 bye. For the time being, though, the Cowboys will be without their top wide out for Sunday's division clash against Philadelphia.
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