As it turns out, the foot injury suffered by Ryan Mallett isn’t all that shocking of a development as it seemed at first blush.
The Arkansas quarterback broke his foot -- a toe on his left foot, to be specific -- during winter conditioning drills last month. He will miss spring practice after having surgery to insert a screw, but is expected to be 100-percent healthy for the start of summer camp.
And, according to head coach Bobby Petrino, the foot Mallett injured in February is the same one he tweaked twice before and during the 2009 season.
Mallett injured the foot in August, then injured the outside of the same foot during the run-up to the Razorbacks’ bowl game. Petrino seemed to indicate that those two incidents played a role in the latest injury.
“There was some stress involved when it finally did break,” Petrino said according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “And we’re lucky it happened now. We’re lucky it happened in the winter, when he’s got plenty of time to get the screw put in and heal properly.”
Not only is Mallett dealing with the foot thing, but he also underwent surgery in January to repair a tear in his non-throwing shoulder. Petrino said that injury “is just about healed up and ready to go. Now it’s just a matter of getting the foot back.”
Mallett, who gave serious consideration to making himself available for the 2010 draft, is being looked at as a potential candidate for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft.
If the rocket-armed QB can stay healthy, that is.