New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Joe Toth
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski missed Thursday’s practice with knee and back injuries.
According to an ESPN report, Gronkowski visited a Boston hospital on Thursday and received an injection in the injured knee. But NFL.com indicated no he did not get an injection but was undergoing treatment.
The back injury was added to the Patriots’ injury report released later Thursday.
The All-Pro was limited Wednesday, did not practice Tuesday and participated in practice on Monday.
He is expected to play Saturday in the divisional playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs, but coach Bill Belichick was vague when asked about Gronkowski’s status for this weekend before the team released Thursday’s injury report.
“We’ll list the players after practice like we do every day,” Belichick said.
Gronkowski was last on the injury report Dec. 24 after he injured his right knee during a Nov. 29 loss to the Denver Broncos and sat out the following week. The Patriots did not play last week, enjoying a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
During the regular season, Gronkowski had a team-high 72 receptions for 1,176 and 11 touchdowns. He was on the field for nearly all of the offensive shaps during the regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins.
Last season at Kansas City, when quarterback Tom Brady was 14 of 23 with two interceptions, Gronkowski had two catches for 31 yards.
