Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas announces he will miss the remainder of the season as he’s suffered a setback after undergoing ankle surgery in June. Thomas made the announcement on Twitter and Coach Sean Payton told reporters the setback is surgically related.
“He’s working his tail off and the setback had more to do with the procedure he had initially that was done,” said Payton. “As they went through the scans, there’s a chance that he may have another procedure done.”
Thomas’ injury news comes two days after it was announced starting quarterback Jameis Winston will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Payton says their opponents will not feel sorry for them.
“We don’t have Jameis at the quarterback position, we don’t have a few other things and that’s just how our league can be sometimes, so we are getting ready for this week,” said Payton.
The Saints miss Thomas. From 2016 to 2019 he was one of the top receivers in the NFL and was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2019.
He originally suffered the ankle injury in the 2020 season-opener and only played in seven regular-season games. Thomas played in the two playoff games and elected to have surgery last June. He’s been on the physically unable to perform list.
“I’ve always been a man of faith and these past few months my faith has been truly tested,” Thomas wrote on the social media post. “As many of you know, early last season I injured my ankle and I worked extremely hard over the next few months to get back in time to finish the season. Unfortunately, the rehab didn’t go as planned and earlier this off-season it was apparent I would need to have a procedure to repair the injury.
“Since then, the team and I have worked diligently, day and night to rehab and get me back on the field. Unfortunately, there has been another small setback which we will have to address. To my displeasure, I will not be able to make it back in time for this season but will do everything in my power to get back to the player I have always been.”
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