By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Cleveland Browns rookie linebacker Barkevious Mingo's bruised lung may keep him out of football for months.
The Plain Dealer talked to two thoracic surgeons about Mingo's injury.
Mingo, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, left last Thursday's preseason game against the Detroit Lions with the injury. He was hospitalized for two days before being released Saturday.
"The fact that he's spitting up blood means it's not a minor contusion," said Dr. Philip A. Linden, the chief of thoracic surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. "There's something significant going on there."
Linden added that a bruised lung can take anywhere from two weeks to two months to heal, depending on the severity of the contusion.
Dr. Clark Fuller, the director of thoracic surgery at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., agreed with Linden's opinion.
"The opener is in jeopardy -- and it should be," said Fuller. "You've got to make sure this isn't a warning flag for something more serious. Spitting up blood and being short of breath shows you how severe it was, and there's no apparent reason for it."
The Browns open the regular season on Sept. 8 against the Miami Dolphins.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/report-doctors-say-browns-mingo-could-miss-months