Colts GM Chris Ballard Says Andrew Luck Is Likely to Sit Out Preseason With Ankle Injury

Andrew Luck is dealing with an injury to the front of his left ankle.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard said quarterback Andrew Luck will likely miss the preseason due to an ankle injury.

On Tuesday, Ballard addressed Luck's injury in a conference call with reporters and said he's dealing with an issue to the front of his left ankle. Luck still has a calf strain, but has also been feeling pain in his ankle for months.

Ballard said Luck will likely not play in any preseason games, but the team's not ready to determine if he will be ready for Week 1. However, the Colts are not shutting Luck down, and rehab is the next step in his recovery process.

From Colts GM Chris Ballard this evening: QB Andrew Luck's calf strain has slowly become an ankle issue. Specifically, a high-ankle issue.

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 13, 2019

Chris Ballard: "This is not 2017."

Luck will likely not play in the preseason, but Colts believe they've finally found the source of the pain in Luck's calf and ankle. Next steps: rehab. Not shutting him down or anything like that. But we'll remain skeptical.

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 14, 2019

» MRI in March reveals calf strain
» Luck starts camp. Pain spreads to ankle, specifically up front.
» Colts believe it's Os Trigonum (which led to Irsay's bone comment). Learned later Monday night it's not.
» Team *believes* they've found source of pain.
» No surgery. Rehab.

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 14, 2019

Ballard's comments come one day after Colts owner Jim Irsay said Luck's absence from training camp was due to a bone injury in his left leg.

"I know everyone's had their questions about Andrew and that sort of thing, but I really feel very confident that he's going to find his way through this thing," Irsay told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday. "I think after the [Kevin] Durant thing [that] everyone's erring on the side of caution, but quite frankly this is not even in the Achilles tendon. It's in another area. It's a bone. You know I'm not good at these things. ... It's a small little bone."

Ballard said the team thought on Monday that Luck's issue was with his os trigonum, which is a small bone that sits behind the ankle joint. After Irsay made the comments on Monday about Luck's bone issue, the team learned it was not the source of his pain.

Luck missed the entire 2017 season with a shoulder injury. He rebounded with a fourth Pro Bowl year in 2018, throwing for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns while leading the Colts back to the playoffs.