NFL PLAYER NEWS

Panthers’ Newton has successful ankle surgery

The Sports Xchange

March 19, 2014 at 6:50 pm.

Newton nicked his ankle in a Week 16 victory against the New Orleans Saints, but played in the regular-season finale at Atlanta and in the NFC divisional playoff loss against San Francisco without noticeable issue. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton underwent successful surgery to repair ligament damage in his left ankle, the team announced Wednesday.

“Dr. (Robert) Anderson did not find anything unexpected in the procedure and the surgery went well,” Panthers head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion said in a statement.

The team said the full recovery period for Newton is expected to be approximately four months, which would take Newton until the start of training camp. He could be freed to throw on a limited basis before then.

According to ESPN.com, Newton nicked his ankle in a Week 16 victory against the New Orleans Saints, but played in the regular-season finale at Atlanta and in the NFC divisional playoff loss against San Francisco without noticeable issue.

The decision was made to go ahead with the operation after the ankle failed to heal with rest after the end of the season.

The 24-year-old Newton completed his third year with the Panthers in 2013, passing for 3,379 yards and 24 touchdowns with 13 interceptions in 16 regular-season starts. He added 585 yards rushing and six touchdowns on the ground in leading Carolina to the playoffs.

Carolina has two other quarterbacks on its roster — recently re-signed backup Derek Anderson and Matt Blanchard, an undrafted player who was signed to the practice squad in October.