Rob Gronkowski needs back surgery too?

Ugh, it never ends. It seems like just when things were looking up for New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski, more bad news breaks out. When I say “looking up”, I mean that Gronkowski will likely be back for training camp and won’t have to undergo a fifth surgery due to the prevailing thought that the infection is gone and that the fourth surgery will be it. Whether or not his status changes remains to be seen, but Gronk’s outlook was actually starting to look better. Now, Gronkowski might be dealing with back issues in addition to the numerous surgeries on his left forearm.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

According to a source close to the USA Today’s Mike Garafolo, the Patriots star TE could require surgery on his back after recently undergoing an MRI to check on a disc in his back. Gronkowski reportedly dealt with back issues there pertaining to that disc last season, and this is definitely a situation to monitor closely.

It just seems like Rob Gronkowski can’t catch a freaking break these days, and I feel absolutely awful for the guy. Honestly, I don’t want to think about the long-term effects of all the arm surgeries and the potential back issues, because it’s enough to make anyone’s head spin. Hopefully, this back surgery ends up being a one-and-done minor issue, while the new plate strengthens his arm to the point where we won’t hear about it again. Yeah, that might be a lot to hope for.

I would recommend reading the entire article by Garafolo linked above, because he goes into more detail regarding the information his source on the matter gave him. Let’s see if Gronkowski can avoid surgery this time, and the source noted that the disc is different from the one that Gronk underwent surgery on in 2009.

Update: A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the surgery would be minor, and the source added that Gronkowski’s recovery from a potential back surgery would fall in line with the recovery from the arm surgery. Another source told Schefter that Gronkowskis will be “fine long term”, so my mind is definitely more at ease thanks to Schefter.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.