Rob Gronkowski Injury Update: Gronkowski Will Play in Super Bowl 2012

Well, there's no surprise here. 

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will play in Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants despite a nagging high ankle sprain. 

ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio is reporting that a league source has indicated that Gronkowski will play in Sunday's big game.

The report also indicates that Gronkowski could very well indeed be having surgery following the game on his injured ankle and that if it wasn't for the Super Bowl, he would be sidelined. That just goes to show how serious Gronkowski's injury could be. 

It's certainly questionable if Gronkowski will be effective against the Giants, but we can only assume New England's medical staff will be extremely diligent in the Gronk's pregame preparations. 

The biggest concern for Gronkowski is the 30-minute halftime, which could lead the ankle to swell up like a balloon after intense first-half action.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how serious the injury really is. 

Be sure to check out Tony Santorsa's blog: PatriotsPlus