Peyton Manning Injury Update: Broncos QB Reportedly Has Torn Plantar Fascia

A day after Peyton Manning was benched in favor of Brock Osweiler, it's become clear that the Denver Broncos quarterback will be sitting for far longer than anyone expected.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday that Manning has a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, and Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak told reporters that Manning will not play Week 11 against the Chicago Bears.

The former league MVP had been dealing with plantar fasciitis, but he aggravated the injury in Denver's Week 9 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He played in Sunday's 29-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs despite the pain.

NFL Network's James Palmer reported, "Players don't usually talk about other players' injuries, but several players told me yesterday they were concerned about Manning's foot."

That game doubled as one of Manning's crowning NFL achievements and the worst performance of his professional career. Manning passed Brett Favre on the all-time passing yards list in the first quarter but finished the game with just 35 yards on 5-of-20 passing, throwing four interceptions before being pulled in the third quarter.

"To be honest with you, I was protecting him. I was worried about him," Kubiak said, per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. "Let me just say this: Obviously, I'm very disappointed in the football game. ... I'm disappointed in myself, this is on me. I probably should have made a decision not to play him in the game. I needed to make probably that tough decision there."

Schefter compared Manning and his brother, Eli, who went through a similar situation:

Manning's left foot is his non-plant foot, so while it isn't as debilitating as an injury to his right foot, the Broncos would be sacrificing Manning's body and their chances at a first-round playoff bye by not sitting Manning until he's healthy.

Manning wouldn't blame injuries for his play, per Legwold:

"

I have a really hard time using that as any type of excuse. I had some injuries during the week ... I felt good enough to go out there and play. It's obviously, you look back on it now, I have a hard time saying that's why I played, you know, badly. Could that be the reason? I guess it could be, but to me, that's an easy way out, kind of an easy line to say after the fact ... I wanted to go, I wanted to be out there for the team.

"

Osweiler, 24, threw for 146 yards and a touchdown against an interception after replacing Manning. With Manning on the sideline, his absence may allow the Broncos to make a decision on whether Osweiler is a viable heir apparent.

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