Remember that sigh of relief you breathed when San Francisco 49ers running back re-entered the game after leaving with a hip injury in Monday night's 27-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals?
Time to hit the panic button again, because the injury is real. The NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora reports that Gore cracked his hip in the win, and will not play again for the remainder of the 2010 season.
It's a shame, because Gore was running particularly strongly before leaving the game. He had 52 yards on only five carries before leaving the Cardinals game.
"When the unquestioned leader goes down, you're going to feel some sorrow about what's going on,"
49ers quarterback Troy Smith told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Gore has 801 yards for the 2010 season, currently good for 12th place among all running backs. But he's now done for the year, and is certain to fall further down that list.
The only consolation is that Brain Westbrook was terrific Monday night in relief of Gore. Westbrook had 136 yards and a touchdown in his first extended action of the season.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who hasn't been this disappointed since they decided to tear down Baron Davis' old bachelor pad.
