INDIANAPOLIS — Jack Doyle's 2018 season ended with a potentially scary kidney injury, but an issue suffered earlier in the year has lingered into this offseason.
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard, speaking to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indy on Wednesday, confirmed that Doyle has undergone surgery to his hip, and that the Pro Bowl tight end is expected to be back by training camp.
Doyle originally suffered, and played through, the hip injury in the Colts' Week 2 victory over the Washington Redskins, and missed the next five games. But then, just four games into his return, in the third quarter of the team's Week 12 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, Doyle "took a pretty big hit" to his kidney, according to head coach Frank Reich, and after the game he was admitted to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery.
Placed on injured reserve Nov. 26, Doyle's sixth NFL season ended after having caught 26 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns in six total games. Prior to the 2018 season, Doyle had played in at least 15 games the first five years of his career.
"It's tough to be hurt, tough to be out," Doyle told reporters at the end of the regular season. "(It was) just one of those years. I've been fairly lucky in the health department. Just another challenge ahead. I'm trying to get stronger and better and back out there."
Doyle last month hinted at the possibility of surgery to correct his lingering hip issue, and now that he' has recovered from his kidney injury — "we're in good shape" there, Ballard said Wednesday — Doyle is rehabbing from another procedure.
"Surgery was good, he's rehabbing good," Ballard said. "My guess is (he) probably will not do anything through OTAs.
"I mean, look: Jack's a vet player. I trust him; trust that he's going to do everything that he can to get back. And we're shooting for the start of training camp for him to be back."
