CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme hopes a rigorous rehabilitation program will allow him to avoid season ending surgery on his strained right elbow.
A week after it was announced Delhomme would not need surgery, Delhomme acknowledged an operation is possible.
"Maybe that could happen down the line. I don't know, and that's the God's honest truth," Delhomme said Monday. "We don't know yet. To say it's a possibility, yes it's possible. But it's not in my mind right now. That's where we're at."
Middle linebacker Dan Morgan also revealed Monday for the first time that he has a partially torn Achilles' tendon and is out indefinitely. Meanwhile, Morgan was walking in a cast on his right foot. Like Delhomme, he was injured in a win over the Falcons on Sept. 23.
Morgan said the tendon is not completely torn, meaning he'll return at some point this season. But Morgan, who has missed 41 of 100 games in his career with numerous injuries and multiple concussions, acknowledged sitting out again is difficult.
"It almost gets to the point where it's laughable," Morgan said. "I take it for what it is. I'll be back."
Delhomme was injured when he was sacked by Atlanta's John Abraham. He sat out Sunday's 20-7 loss to Tampa Bay, when backup David Carr and the Panthers didn't cross the Buccaneers 45-yard line until late in the fourth quarter.
Coach John Fox said last week an MRI showed no structural damage and indicated surgery was not needed. But on Monday he indicated he meant to say surgery wasn't immediately necessary. Later, he said doctors brought up surgery as a possibility after Delhomme had more tests late last week.
"There's always options with medical situations," Fox said. "Shoot, you have different opinions with doctors. So we're spending a lot of time on something that you don't know and I don't know. That's why it's day to day."
Delhomme said he's yet to try to throw a football since he was injured, although he may try to throw this week. He wouldn't rule himself out of Sunday's game at New Orleans, but it appears unlikely he'll play.
The Panthers have a bye the following week, and Delhomme would like to know by then if he's progressing or if surgery is necessary.
"We haven't set a concrete date yet," Delhomme said. "Certainly, I know we have an open date coming up. For myself, I want to know soon."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
