It was a win for the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3 against the visiting Atlanta Falcons, but both teams lost key pieces of their roster over the course of the game. It was reported on Monday morning the Falcons will be without Pro Bowl safety Keanu Neal for the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles suffered just before halftime, marking the second consecutive year the former first-round pick will miss the majority of the season with injury.
For the Colts -- while although not having to deal with such a devastating blow on their end -- it'll be about trying to manage the next several games without a former first-round safety of their own in Malik Hooker. The 23-year-old reportedly suffered a torn meniscus in his knee against the Falcons and despite returning to play through the injury, he's expected to miss upwards of 4-6 weeks because of it, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Colts’ S Malik Hooker tore meniscus in his knee and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks, per source. He actually came back in and finished the game with the injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2019
Should this timeline materialize, Hooker would return for the Colts' battle with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8 at best, but the bye week would likely be taken into account at that point. With the Colts being off in Week 9, they might opt to allow another two weeks of rest and recovery before suiting him up against the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. Unless he recovers fairly quickly, the latter would be the more logical assumption regarding his eventual return.
Like Neal, Hooker is no stranger to injury.
In his rookie 2017 season alone, he battled an injury to his groin, shoulder, hamstring and landed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL and MCL in October. He'd fare better in 2018 with 14 active games following just seven the year prior, but could now again miss significant time.
