ST. LOUIS -- Marshall Faulk had knee surgery Monday, and the
team said the Rams' star running back is expected to be out three weeks.
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| Faulk |
The operation removed loose cartilage from Faulk's right knee,
an injury that forced one of the NFL's best runners to miss Sunday
night's loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Teammate D'Marco Farr, a defensive tackle, was out a month after
a similar operation.
Faulk has been playing with a sore knee most of the season. An
MRI on Oct. 30 revealed torn scar tissue and an enlarged bruise in
addition to the loose cartilage.
Faulk practiced Friday and went out for warmups after having the
knee drained earlier Sunday, but the knee began to lock.
"He could feel the cartilage getting hung up in there," Martz
said. "Really, there was nothing else to do."
Justin Watson started in place of Faulk, who entering Sunday led
the NFL with 1,326 yards from scrimmage. Faulk did not play Sunday.
He suited up for the first half but was wearing sweats after
halftime.
Watson scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter but finished
with 12 yards on 12 carries.
The loss of Faulk comes as the Rams are still without last
season's NFL and Super Bowl MVP, quarterback Kurt Warner. Warner
will be out another two to four weeks with a broken pinky on his
throwing hand. He was hurt during a 54-34 loss to Kansas City on
Oct. 22.
The Rams are entering a difficult stretch of their schedule.
They play the New York Giants (7-2) Sunday, are home to Washington
(6-4) in Monday night game Nov. 20, then travel to New Orleans
(6-3) Nov. 26.
Six of the Rams' final seven games are against teams with
winning records. The lone exception is a Dec. 3 rematch at Carolina
(4-5).
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