Doug Martin, the running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been absent since week after suffering a hamstring injury. However, after failing to fully recover, he might not be able to return for the rest of the season.
Martin suffered the injury during the Buccaneers' game against the Arizona Cardinals. Originally, he was scheduled to return after the bye week when the team takes on the San Francisco 49ers.
However, coach Dirk Koetter revealed earlier this week that Martin's recovery process has encountered a setback.
"Doug did unfortunately suffer a little setback a week ago Sunday," he said. "We'll just have to see when he can make it back. There's no timetable on that right now... but Doug did suffer a little setback."
"Nobody's at fault when somebody gets hurt," he added. "Injuries are the worst part of this game. A lot of teams have injuries. We don't like it, but trust me, no one feels worse about it than the player. The player feels bad and injuries make it tough on our team, but we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've gotta keep rolling."
Koetter did not go into detail regarding the setback that derailed Martin's return to the field. However, based on his statement, it could mean that the running back will be absent for a long time.
If Martin gets placed on the injured reserve list for a long time, there's a good chance that he might get released from the team. He could either get waived next year or be traded for another team that's willing to take on the remainder of his contract.
Martin's absence will certainly take a huge toll on the Buccaneers especially since they are currently dealing with a lot of injured players. Aside from him, the team also lost backup running back Charles Sims due to an knee injury and has been placed on injured reserve. Receiver Vincent Jackson is also on the IR after suffering the same injury.
Hopefully though, the remaining members of the team's active roster will be enough to take on the 49ers this Sunday, which will be led by starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
