Carter Recovering from Hip Surgery
4/16/2007 5:38:09 PM | Football
Read Head Coach Greg Robinson's Press Conference Transcript
Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson said today that sophomore running back Delone Carter is recovering from hip surgery, but will miss the 2007 season due the injury suffered during practice on Saturday.
"Delone had surgery to repair his injured hip yesterday morning," Robinson said. "It is a serious injury. Hip injuries take time to heal, more so than a shoulder or a knee. Realistically I think we have to believe that Delone will not be playing this Fall. To try to anticipate when his return will be is too hard to say. I do know that in talking to (assistant team physician) Dr. (Wayne) Eckhardt that he was satisfied with the way that the surgery went and he does believe that Delone can fully recover. There are certain things that take time, though, before you really know for sure where things are."
Robinson and the Orange are keeping in close contact with Carter and will continue to do so throughout his recovery.
"Delone is in good spirits. He is very disappointed at the injury, as is everybody. Delone is someone who it is easy to find affection for and I know that our team, just by the display of affection for Delone during the last couple of days, I think he can feel it. I think he is doing well. Hopefully he will get out of the hospital tomorrow."
As a rookie in 2006, Carter was Syracuse's leading rusher, gaining 713 yards on 156 carries and scoring four touchdowns. The Sporting News Freshman All-American was the first freshman to lead the Orange in rushing since Joe Morris in 1978. His rushing yards and carries rank second on Syracuse's freshman record lists.
"I think our football team and coaching staff know that this is a setback for our team," Robinson said. "Delone, just as a freshman, was a very productive football player for us. I really thought Delone was one who really took advantage of the off-season conditioning program. You could just see that that type of training really helped him in his physical development and he was having a very productive Spring. As I say, it is a setback. At the same time, I say, ‘Is it devastating?’ No, it is not. That is why you are a team, when there are setbacks you work to find ways to take care of the situation. What it comes down to is that we have to be able to work to disperse the productivity that we were expecting to get out of Delone. I don’t think any one person is going to be able to do that. There are a lot of different ways we can disperse the productivity. How and what they all are right now, I am not prepared to tell you that we have everything answered. This will take time. That is the challenge of the game of football, is dealing with setbacks in every football game. That this has occurred with a week of Spring football left and with the summer ahead of us, that is a good thing because at least we have some time to weigh the situation and to try to see how we can go about taking care of the issue of dispersing Delone’s productivity."
The Orange have two practices remaining before the annual Spring game on Saturday, April 21 in the Carrier Dome. The team will take the field at 12:30 p.m. and the scrimmage will begin at 1:00 p.m. Admission is free. After the game, fans are invited to join the Orange on the field for an autograph session. The Spring game will be available as a free webcast beginning at 12:45 p.m. on www.suathletics.com. Tickets for the 2007 season are available online (click here) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (1-888-DOMETIX). The Box Office will open at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday prior to the Spring game.
