Vick Ballard Injury: Updates on Colts Star's Achilles and Recovery

Updates from Saturday, July 26

ESPN's Mike Wells reports the bad news regarding Ballard:

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According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Indianapolis Colts running back Vick Ballard may be looking at another season on the shelf after reportedly tearing his Achilles tendon on Friday:

Stephen Holder of The Indianapolis Star reported that Ballard still has to get an MRI. If the initial diagnosis is confirmed, he'll likely be out for the year:

The 24-year-old was carted away from practice earlier in the day, causing many Colts fans to wait with bated breath for updates, per ESPN.com's Mike Wells:

Colts owner Jim Irsay spoke about Ballard before the news broke about the severity of the injury:

Ballard was limited to just one game last year after tearing his right ACL heading into Week 2. That injury halted the momentum that Ballard built after an impressive rookie season in which he ran for 814 yards and two touchdowns.

With Ballard out, more pressure will be heaped upon Trent Richardson and Ahmad Bradshaw. Neither running back provided much consistent production in 2013, so this injury could have a negative impact on Indianapolis' offense.

The good news—if you can call it that—for Ballard is that this isn't another ACL issue. Once he recovers from this, he may be able to spark his NFL career again.