The Los Angeles Chargers added quarterback Justin Herbert to the injury report Thursday with a foot injury after they said they were advised to do so by the league.
According to the team, nothing has changed since Herbert practiced Wednesday and spoke with the media after practice, other than the guidance from the league. Herbert was listed as a full participant at Wednesday’s practice.
Herbert missed most of training camp with what the team announced as a plantar fascia injury to his right foot. Herbert missed his first practice on Aug. 1. He was in a walking boot for two weeks before engaging in a gradual return to play. Herbert returned to practice Aug. 19. Two days later, he had one of the best practices of his Chargers career.
Herbert said Wednesday his plantar fascia is 100 percent healed, though he added that he will have to manage his foot to some degree over the course of the season.
“It’s not really on my mind right now,” Herbert said. “It’s one of those things that if you get out in front of it, you do a good job on the back end, whether it’s making sure that you’re rehabbing and icing and doing all the things that you can in the training room before and after practice so you don’t have to deal with it later. As long as we’re out in front of it, I think it’ll be all right.”
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It was Herbert’s first time speaking publicly since the team announced the injury in a statement.
Herbert, according to the Chargers, injured his plantar fascia, the arch ligament in the foot that connects the heal to the big toe. Herbert said the the injury did not occur in a specific moment. He said the soreness he started feeling “probably happened before” the start of training camp on July 24.
“It was more of a buildup,” he said.
Herbert added: “That’s kind of the difficult part I told (the training staff), was I didn’t really know when or what happened. But we got better, so we’re through it and we’re looking forward.”
Herbert has managed injuries before in his career. In Week 2 of 2022, Herbert fractured his rib cartilage against the Chiefs. He dealt with that for the rest of the season.
Herbert said this foot injury is “not as bad as” the rib injury in 2022.
“I could have fought through it,” Herbert said of the foot injury. “I could have played through it. But (the training staff) talked about just making sure that if it heals up, gets better over the two weeks, then you won’t have to worry about it again. So I think I felt comfortable with the plan. We all were on the same page. And as long as I’m doing everything I can treatment-wise to take care of it, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
Herbert is in line to start Sunday in the Chargers’ season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium.
(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)