The setback suffered by Andrew Luck in his recovery from shoulder surgery last week has pushed back any possible return until, most likely, December, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, though the Colts remain committed to seeing him play this season if his health allows.
Luck received a cortisone shot to alleviate soreness as he was trying to build up his throwing program, but he still was not throwing on consecutive days when this occurred. Luck will limit his activity for the next two weeks, and he and the Colts are hopeful he can resume the program he was on, which called for gradually ramping up his workload over a series of weeks.
It's not uncommon for a quarterback to hit this plateau in recovery from shoulder surgery, and the setback is not considered to be significant, but it will push back any possible return. When Luck returns to practice on a limited basis, he will resume a slow climb to be ready to play. As previously reported, he will need several weeks of throwing on a limited basis again, and then have to sustain a period of being able to throw on consecutive days and then getting integrated into more of a full practice setting.
Even at that point, given how much time he has missed and the surgery he is recovering from, Luck would still require multiple weeks of practice before being deemed clear to be active on a game day. Assuming he is back throwing by the end of this month, that puts long odds on him actually playing in November.
Given that the Colts have a Week 11 bye, the earliest anyone could consider Luck as a viable option would be Nov. 26, at home to the Titans, assuming a steady rate of progress from this point, but that may prove ambitious as well. The Colts are not putting any firm timetable on his return -- and never have -- but have no plans to shut the quarterback down for the season based on the club's potential position in the standings, with the hope that he can play this season if for nothing else than to jumpstart him for 2018.
