Kenny Clark Reveals Foot Surgery After Game in Brazil
After the Green Bay Packers’ defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil, defensive tackle Kenny Clark, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, criticized the field conditions at the Arena Corinthians. Now, months later, the reason behind his strong words is revealed.
Clark revealed that he underwent surgery in January to fix a problem in his right foot, which, according to him, originated during the match in Brazil.
Despite playing in all 17 regular season games and the playoff game against the Eagles, Clark suffered a toe injury that bothered him for much of the season. He was listed on the injury report with a toe injury on multiple occasions.
Clark explained that the injury occurred when his right foot got stuck in the artificial turf, a problem that affected several players during the game in Brazil.
It was really the grass over there. Like the grass, practically, yes.
Kenny Clark
According to Clark, he dealt with a bunion and bone spurs, which ultimately led to surgery.
When asked if the poor field conditions at the stadium, normally used for soccer, caused his injury, Clark responded: “I’m not going to answer that question. Yes, I have all the Brazilians on me.”
Clark was referring to the reaction to the comments he made on USA Today’s “Clubhouse Live” program in September, shortly after the match in Brazil. At that time, he said about the field: “It was garbage, man. I’ve played in the snow, I’ve played in the rain, I’ve never played on a surface like that… Clay was coming out of the ground. There were holes in the ground. It was a difficult surface to play on.”
Clark recorded his fewest tackles since his rookie season in 2006 and had only one sack all season, after combining for 15.5 in the previous three seasons. Clark only began doing individual drills during OTA practices this week. Previously, he had spent most of the offseason program rehabilitating or working apart.
It was a tough year for me. I had foot surgery in January, so yeah, it was a tough year. But I’m excited. I’m back practicing, back doing [individual drills], so today was my second day doing indy with the team, and I just have to keep building forward.
Kenny Clark
The game between the Packers and the Eagles was the first NFL game in Brazil. The Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs will play there this year on September 5th.
