The Chargers have issued a recovery timetable of four-to-six weeks for RB Ryan Mathews. Mathews said he thinks he'll be on the field in four weeks for the Chargers' Sept. 10 season opener in Oakland.
"I think I heal pretty fast," Mathews, 24, said. "I think I'll be good in time to play against the Raiders. ... I'm happy it happened now than against the Raiders. It's better that it happened now, just to get it out of the way. It gives me a few weeks to recover and get back at it."
Mathews said his doctor gave him three-to-six week timetable. He plans to continue training as his shoulder heals.
"My legs aren't broken," Mathews said. "I can still do stuff with my legs and everything. It's more just upper body stuff that I'll probably have to shy away from, but my legs work just fine."
A broken clavicle on Mathews' first preseason carry is certainly a concern, and risk of re-injury is there. However, Mathews was going as a top 5 pick in most leagues prior to this weekend. He is now falling into the 3rd round and is a value there if he indeed can return by Week 1 or Week 2, avoid re-injury, and prove effective. The points per game should be there for Mathews, it's just a matter of how many games he'll be able to play. The Chargers have no other talented runners, with Ronnie Brown and Curtis Brinkley next in line.
