Chargers QB Justin Herbert suffers two-week setback with plantar fascia injury

The Chargers released a statement on Thursday afternoon that star QB Justin Herbert suffered an injury to his plantar fascia. The statement released from the team calls for at least "two weeks" in a boot for his right foot.

A return-to-play protocol will then commence after that. So far, the team currently has the expectation that he will be ready to begin the regular season after said protocol is completed.

The injury comes at an unfortunate time when Herbert had really started to gel with Ladd McConkey, DJ Chark, and the rest of the Chargers' offense in practice. LA's backups who will take on all of the practice reps for the time being include Easton Stick, Max Duggan, and Casey Bauman. Stick started about a month's worth of games last season after Herbert suffered another finger fracture.

Herbert was probably unlikely to play in the preseason if he did at all. But this injury certainly wipes out any possibility of practice or game reps for the next two to three weeks. With the nature of plantar fascia injuries and how plausible reaggravation is, the coaching staff will obviously want to be careful with their QB1.

From a time perspective, the Chargers have some degree of cushion with the injury. Kickoff against the Raiders is still over a month away. At least from what the team has publicly released, they are not concerned about Herbert missing any games to start the season.

Justin Herbert's injury recovery timeline is up in the air

The timeline of the injury is unknown. Per the team, the plantar fascia injury was not discovered until after practice yesterday. Herbert did notably have multiple carries in which he used his legs in Wednesday's practice. But considering that a plantar fasciitis injury is a buildup of inflammation, it probably happened more gradually than on a single play.

The injury also comes soon after a press conference on Monday in which the Chargers' coaching staff said that they would be purposefully coy with injury details. Considering the statement knocks Herbert out for at least two weeks, it seems to be significantly more than the barometer of "working through something" that Jim Harbaugh had set.

Time will tell if Herbert is back by the time the regular season kicks off. But for now, the storylines of training camp turn to his recovery as well as how the backups are performing. Hopefully, his rehabilitation and return to play protocol goes smoothly.

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