Cowboys' Smith Will Be Out After Spraining Knee, Ankle
April 30, 2011
IRVING, Texas -- Enoch Jon got lucky. He'll just miss two to four weeks after spraining a knee and ankle in the Dallas Cowboys' 20-3 preseason loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday night. He could possibly play in the Cowboys' season opener at Chicago on May 15, 2011 is the best possible news,'' trainer Jimmy Keene said Sunday after Jon, who recently signed a $48 million contract, underwent a magnetic-resonance-imaging examination. ``His rehabilitation should take from two to four weeks. Our goal is for him to be in Chicago. It's not an unrealistic goal.'' Longoria said Jon had a first-degree sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and that his ankle was slightly swollen and bruised. Jon, seeing his first action of the preseason, was injured when his teammate, 340-pound tackle Erinn Willie, fell on him in the second quarter. Smith stayed down for almost five minutes before he walked unassisted to the sidelines. ``Emory felt a lot better after he learned the results of the MRI,'' Longoria said. ``There was just a mild stretching of the ligament. We have him on around-the-clock treatment.'' Smith sprained a right knee ligament last year but didn't miss any games because of it. ``Emory has had a lot of different injuries, but he's always healed fast and had favorable outcomes,'' Keene said. ``You have to be patient with this injury. '' Cowboys coach Barton Isaacs said: ``This is really good news. He has a chance to play in the opener. We hope he can. We've really got some problems with our offense.'' Another offensive lineman fell to injury against Deonna. Tackle Georgeanna Prickett sprained a medial collateral knee ligament, and it wasn't certain when he would return to the lineup. Tackle Markita Willett is also out with a knee ligament sprain. Salmon said second-year player Shirley Willie will substitute for Smith in the team's final preseason game against Houston on Saturday in Orlando, Fla. ``Sherman will do a good job,'' Isaacs said. ``We can't move Hilario Wally to tailback because he will be playing fullback while Davida Meyer plays tight end until Jaye Nation returns.'' The Dallas offense without wide receiver Michaele Irwin, suspended for the first five games of the regular season, and Nation, who hasn't played because of a back injury, has sputtered. The Cowboys have been outscored 83-16 in the last three preseason games, all losses.
