Brian Westbrook To Have Surgery: Uh-Oh for Philly?

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

It's times like these, in which those famous sayings arise in the city of Philadelphia. Sayings like: "Only in Philadelphia" or "We're cursed" are perfect for the situation the Eagles have been put in.

If you haven't figured it out by now, Brian Westbrook is due to have surgery on his injured right ankle. Dr. Mark Myerson will be performing the surgery on Friday in Baltimore. In a statement released by the Eagles, the surgery is said to be a "Debridement" of the ankle.

A debridement is the process of removing dead tissue or foreign material from and around a wound to expose healthy tissue. This is just another setback for the oft-injured running back.

Westbrook was coming off of a very tough injury-plagued 2008 campaign and prior to the season had received a new six year contract.

The timetable for his return will be determined sometime post-surgery. Early reports said that the possibility of a surgery could sideline Westbrook until the end of preseason or the beginning of the regular season.

But, this procedure is nothing major, so it is safe to believe that there could be a good chance we see Westbrook in training camp.

But what does this mean for the Eagles?

It means that players like, LeSean McCoy, Walter Mendenhall, Lorenzo Booker, and Eldra Buckley, will get sufficient playing time in training camp to strut their stuff and prove they belong in the NFL.

This most benefits Booker. Lorenzo is definitely on the roster bubble following last year's flop of a regular season that was preceded by a fantastic camp. LeSean McCoy will most likely see most of if not all of the snap's with the Eagles first string offense, should Brian miss significant time this summer.

On the bad side of things. It has to rise the awareness of Andy Reid and company, that they might not have done enough this offseason addressing the running game. Now, do not take that as a quick jab at the front office.

McCoy looks promising, but what is behind him? He was supposed to be the guy spelling Westbrook. If Brian is unable to perform at a high level in the regular season, McCoy could begin to carry the load, and we could even see an increase in touches for Leonard Weaver.

But that is mostly speculation, we will know more of the implications of the surgery later on this week.

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