Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green will miss a few regular-season games after having clean-up surgery on his left ankle Tuesday, head coach Zac Taylor told reporters.
“He’s gonna miss some regular-season games,” Taylor said. “How many, I don’t know that. Very hopeful that he’s back at the beginning of the regular season and it’s not more than a couple games.”
Previous optimism that Green could be ready for Week 1 faded after the surgery, according to Taylor.
“When they got in there and got the surgery done, they realized it’s going to be a little bit longer,” he said.
ESPN reported Sunday that Green had torn ligaments in the ankle and would miss six to eight weeks, likely putting him out of Week 1 and potentially through Week 3. The Bengals open the season at Seattle on Sept. 8.
Green, who turns 31 on Wednesday, was carted off the field Saturday during the team’s first training camp practice at the University of Dayton.
He missed seven games last season with an injured right toe, falling short of 1,000 receiving yards for just the second time in his eight-year career.
Green has 602 receptions for 8,907 yards and 63 touchdowns in 111 games since the Bengals selected him fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.
