Manti Te'o Injury: Updates on Chargers LB's Foot and Return

Updates from Sunday, Nov. 16

Marty Caswell of 1090 Sports Radio confirmed that Manti Te'o is active vs. Oakland:

Updates from Friday, Nov. 14

Ricky Henne of Chargers.com has the latest on Te'o:

Updates from Wednesday, Nov. 12 

Manti Te'o was a full participant at Chargers practice today according to Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego.

The linebacker briefly commented on how practice went via the team's official Twitter account:

Updates from Friday, Oct. 31

ESPN's Eric Williams has an update on Te'o's status for Sunday:

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 23

Manti Te'o is officially inactive for Week 8 according to Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego:

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 19

Ricky Henne of Chargers.com confirms Manti Te'o will not play in Week 7:

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 15

Michael Gehlken of UT-San Diego has an update on Te'o's status:

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 12

Ricky Henne of Chargers.com confirms Manti Te'o is inactive for Week 6:

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 5

Derek Togerson of NBC7.com confirms Manti Te'o is inactive for Week 5:

"

#Chargers inactives: Inman, Wright, Te'o, Walker, R. Mathews, Ohrnberger, Attaochu. Expect Verrett to start for Wright.

— Derek Togerson (@DerekNBCSD) October 5, 2014"

Updates from Sunday, Sept. 28

Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego confirmed that Manti Te'o is inactive for Week 4:

Updates from Friday, Sept. 26

Ricky Henne of Chargers.com reported on Manti Te'o's status for Week 4:

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 25

Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com provides a statement from Manti Te'o discussing his latest foot injury:

"

Asked if he's concerned that the injured foot could be a chronic issue, Te'o said he believes that with rest and rehabilitation he can control the injury. Te'o also said he does not know if he'll need surgery a second time for his current foot injury.

'I always think about things in a positive light, and I'll make sure that it's not one,' he said. 'That's something I've got control over, and I'll make sure I'm doing everything possible to make sure my body is right. It's happened twice already; hopefully it doesn't happen a third time.'

"

Updates from Wednesday, Sept. 24

Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego passed along comments from Mike McCoy on Manti Te'o's status:

Original Text

San Diego Chargers linebacker Manti Te'o has reportedly suffered a fractured foot and will be out for the foreseeable future.

Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego reported the news Monday, and he noted that this is the third foot injury Te'o has sustained since entering the NFL as a 2013 second-round draft pick.

Te'o had 61 combined tackles in 13 starts as a rookie, but he was on a superior pace to start this season, racking up 19 tackles in just three games. Despite hurting himself in the Chargers' Week 3 win at Buffalo, he still had 10 tackles.

Before the 2014 campaign began, Te'o seemed confident that he'd step up in his second season as a pro, per Gehlken:

"

The offseason was great. Rookie year is possibly the hardest year. Everyone told me that it was. You go non-stop. It's all football from your last game in college to preparing for the combine to preparing for the draft to getting drafted and then coming straight to rookie minicamp and going through the real thing. The offseason allowed me to just get some away time and get a jumpstart in my workouts. It was good.

"

Comcast Sportsnet's John Middlekauff weighed in on Te'o's encouraging start to the year:

While the evident progress in Te'o's play at inside linebacker is a big positive, it also makes his absence all the more glaring and tough for San Diego to take.

Reggie Walker and Kavell Conner are the top candidates to replace Te'o in the meantime, according to the team's official depth chart. It will be interesting to see whether the Chargers can replace someone as cerebral and strong in coverage as Te'o for an extended period of time.

The Chargers take on a trio of inexperienced quarterbacks in the next several games in Blake Bortles (Jacksonville Jaguars), Geno Smith (New York Jets) and Derek Carr (Oakland Raiders).

That is a silver lining for a team that is off to a rather strong 2-1 start, with its only loss coming to the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.