Uncertainty surrounds LT
January 4 San Diego Union-Tribune
"The hard part? The truly hard part? In the end, it wasn't being on the sideline and watching another Chargers running back win the game in OT. That was the nice part.
The hard part was not being able to celebrate. Not being able to jump in the air along with everybody else on the sideline. Not being able to break into a full sprint toward Darren Sproles and wrap his arms around him.
"I just realized that everybody was running past me," LaDainian Tomlinson said. "I couldn't run."
Whether Tomlinson can run in next weekend's divisional playoff game at either Tennessee or Pittsburgh is unclear, although judging from Saturday night's events without access or a working knowledge of MRI results, it surely doesn't look good. Tomlinson declined to project, saying he'd wait to see with everyone else, take it "day by day."
That's pretty much what he and the Chargers did all last week. Tomlinson was withheld from practice, and while he said he could tell from just the first warm-ups that his strained groin and abdominal muscle wouldn't let him do much, he gave it a shot and even did enough to score a short touchdown before calling it a night after five first-half carries.
"I went as long as I could," Tomlinson said. "On the TD run, I felt like I was making it worse. Even on that (3-yard) play, I felt like I was dragging my leg through it."
Tomlinson's injury and playing status provided the game's greatest storyline, and as it turned out, his absence also set the stage for a most exciting and inspiring finish. Taking his place, Sproles dazzled a nationwide audience that already admired him for playing so well at his size, but now was struck by how he performed in the clutch to deliver a playoff victory with his 22-yard touchdown in overtime.
"I'm very happy for Darren," Tomlinson said. "There's a brotherhood and a love for him."
Tomlinson and Sproles actually were introduced as the starting backfield, which seemed a strong enough clue that the Chargers had a substantial doubt about how effective Tomlinson could be.
Before the game, in fact, there was a report that Tomlinson had been advised by doctors that his injury requires surgery. Hours later, Tomlinson would decline to confirm or deny the report, saying he didn't want to discuss medical issues in specifics.
However, after a week of citing some improvement every day since suffering the injury last week against Denver, Tomlinson acknowledged he knew almost from the moment he stepped onto the Qualcomm turf Saturday afternoon that he might be in for a short night.
"I could tell what I was dealing with," Tomlinson said. "From my first run, I didn't have the burst."
He hid it well. Clearly excited by the mere presence of Tomlinson's presence in the starting lineup, the raucous crowd roared as he opened the game with a 13-yard run to the right. The fact that the ball was given to him for the second play as well - a gain of 2 y
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