Chargers news: Adam Schefter gives more clarity on Justin Herbert's injury timeline

The LA Chargers were hit with the worst possible news a team can be hit with during training camp: the star quarterback has been injured. Justin Herbert suffered a plantar fascia injury last week and will be in a walking boot for at least two weeks as the team will then look to ramp him up for Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

While the proposed timeline is promising, this specific injury is hard to forecast. It is unclear how severe Herbert's plantar fascia injury is and how much pain the star quarterback is in. Even if he reaches a point where he can physically play, he could be limited by severe pain in his planting foot.

That is the outlook NFL insider Adam Schefter offered on Friday. Schefter outlined how Herbert may be forced to play through pain and didn't fully commit to the idea that Herbert would be ready for the start of the 2024 season.

Schefter clarified his understood timeline of the injury on Monday during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show". The prominent NFL insider still outlined how Herbert may have to play through pain (and take painkilling injections as a result) but was more concrete in his understanding of Herbert's timeline to return.

Adam Schefter expects Justin Herbert to play for the Chargers in Week 1

Schefter did not fully commit to the idea of Herbert playing in Week 1 last week. While he was not outwardly saying Herbert wouldn't play, Schefter was not as concrete about his expectation for Herbert to play in Week 1.

Chargers fans can breathe a bit easier after Schefter worried them before the weekend. If all goes as planned, this truly does appear to be a situation where Herbert will be ready for the start of the season.

However, Schefter did not backtrack from the notion that Herbert might be playing through pain and may have to take steps to remedy that pain. Even if the Chargers are 100% accurate on his timeline to return to action, there is a good chance this is something that lingers for Herbert.

And if so, it will be the third season in a row Herbert is forced to play through something that hinders his play. In 2022 it was fractured rib cartilage that made him human for two months, in 2023 it was a fractured finger on his non-throwing hand that changed how he could receive snaps and hand the ball off.

In 2024, it might be a lingering foot injury on his planting foot that keeps him from using his legs to extend plays and restricts him from getting everything behind his throws.

It seems beyond likely Herbert will be playing through pain to start the 2024 season and the hope is that the pain will be short-lived and it won't snowball into something bigger like it did for Antonio Gates.