Chicago Bears Receiver Johnny Knox Expected To Make Full Recovery, Continue NFL Career

As a Chicago Bears fan my heart sank tremendously on Sunday when Johnny Knox was carted off the field via personnel carrier with a neck brace supporting his person but now the Bears front office says his surgery was a success and his career will likely continue.

Knox went under the knife on Monday morning to stabilize a vertebra and just hours after coming out of surgery a spokesman for the Bears revealed:

“There is a positive prognosis for his playing career and quality of life.”

In the meantime head coach Lovie Smith added:

“Johnny has total movement throughout his body…. He is not paralyzed or anything like that.”

After being nearly doubled over on a play against Seattle doctors said the early prognosis was good since he had feeling and movement in all of his extremities.

Neel Anand, director of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery at the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles told the Chicago Sun-Times that Neurologically, he’s completely fine,” and “The only thing left is the nature of the stability.”

During the surgery doctors were expected to examine the junction of the thoracic and lumbar curvatures, the most commonly injured area during a collision such as the one faced by Knox.

Neel says the injury would then likely be stabilized through the use of screws and rods which could help Knox come back in three to six months.

The doctor closed by noting:

“He should be okay by next season, even if it’s a complete reconstruction.”

It’s been a bad week for the Chicago Bears receiving corp., first Sam Hurd was released because of his alleged involvement in a drug trafficking ring and now Knox has been taken out of the equation, possibly at the same time that Jay Cutler is preparing to make his return from a broken thumb injury.

Are you surprised to learn that even with reconstruction of the area Johnny Knox could be returning to the Chicago Bears lineup in 2012?