When Ronald Darby went down early in the second quarter in Sunday's win over Washington, it didn't look good.
He needed to be carted off the field and was in some obvious pain after a pretty gruesome-looking injury. At the time, the injury looked like it would probably end his season.
It won't.
"I'm going to be back," Darby said confidently Wednesday. "It's only four to six weeks."
Darby was citing the medical report from his doctors. Darby simply dislocated his right ankle and there's no ligament damage. He won't need surgery.
So he just needs it to heal and he should be back this season. In the meantime, the Eagles will go with some other combinations at corner to try to stay afloat, although Jim Schwartz wouldn't divulge the plan and he apparently made sure his players keep it to themselves too.
No matter what the Eagles do at corner, missing Darby for the next month or longer will be a big loss. He's clearly the team's best cornerback and has the pure speed that's lacking with his teammates.
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On Wednesday, as he cruised through the Eagles' locker room with his right leg hoisted up on the platform of his black Roll-A-Bout, Darby wasn't moving fast. He's hoping he'll be much faster once his ankle heals.
But will his injury affect his speed?
"I hope not," Darby said. "I ain't never dislocated my ankle before so … I don't have to get surgery or anything so it should be OK."
There's not much Darby is allowed to do right now with a dislocated ankle, so there's a chance he won't be in great shape once he's medically cleared to return. On Wednesday, though, he said he isn't worried about that; he doesn't think it'll take him long to get back into shape.
Darby's last few days have been filled with treatment on his ankle and that'll likely be his life for the next few weeks. He said he's committed to helping his teammates however he can while he's out.
It meant a lot to Darby that Jalen Mills dedicated the Eagles' win to him. Darby said he told Mills he was going to get his first-career interception and Mills did.
When Darby went down near the sideline Sunday, he was in some obvious pain. He said it got a little better once his ankle was back in place in the air cast.
"You ever dislocate something?" Darby said laughing. "It hurt."
As soon as he went down, though, Darby didn't know the severity of the injury.
"I ain't know what to expect it happened so fast," he said, "but I'm just happy to be OK."
The injury looked so gruesome at the time, it's almost hard to imagine that Darby will play again this season, but he's convinced he will. Four to six weeks isn't bad.
"Yeah, [my family] was worried about me," Darby said. "But everyone is happy that it wasn't that serious and I'm going to be back."