Bear Digest

Is 'Cautious' Approach by Bears to Keenan Allen's Injury Enough?

Keenan Allen's plantar fasciitis dates back to before the Aug. 15 Bengals game and the Bears are hoping he can play Sunday after two weeks away.

Gene Chamberlain

Keenan Allen hopes to play Sunday and has tried to be conservative with the approach to his plantar fasciitis.
Keenan Allen hopes to play Sunday and has tried to be conservative with the approach to his plantar fasciitis. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen sees the way he and the team have been treating his plantar fasciitis as cautious.

As a result, he doubts he'll be plagued by this condition all year.

"Nah, that's why we've been playing it safe, just going day-by-day with it, week-by-week, seeing how I feel," Allen told reporters on Friday. "Last week we just decided to sit it out and still playing it day by day."

It's easy to wonder if they really are being safe about it considering it's only been two weeks away and also due to Allen's history with the injury.

Plantar fasciitis is a tricky situation. Allen was bothered by something similar last year with the Chargers but not in quite the same way.

“Yeah, kind of," he said. "It just went into the plantar fasciitis this year.”

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When it didn't go into plantar fasciitis last year, it resulted in Allen on injured reserve the final four weeks. Now he is questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams but seems likely to play.

This injury goes back a while, and not just to the final preseason game as it seemed.

"Yeah, it's been hurting since training camp," Allen said. "I was just able to run though it. It was just a heel at that point, just like a bruise, kind of like a spur on the heel. Tried to stop in the end zone and then it went to the plantar fasciitis."

It was all the way back into mid August.

"Like right before the joint practice with the Bengals it started irritating me, just a wear and tear type of deal," Allen said. "Like I said a bone bruise, a bone spur on the heel and it got worse throughout the Titans game. I had that abrupt stop (in the end zone near game's end) where it kind of stretched on me."

He said there's not much to be done for it other than rest it.

"It's just irritating," Allen said. "It's kind of like a hamstring pull; you can't really do anything about it. You've got to wait until it heals up."

Allen complimented the training staff for the work done so far and said he won't be taking any type of pain-killing shot for it.

There has been an improvement, however and he's looking on the bright side of it.

“I’d rather it happen now than at the end of the season," Allen said. "That was the main thing of resting it an extra week and just making sure we put this beside us and be able to be healthy for the rest of the season."

There is also the issue of Allen missing a few weeks worth of practice time and the possibility of lost timing with Caleb Williams in the passing attack.

"I think we'll be fine," Allen said. "Football's football. I've been playing for a little while now, so hopefully I can get to my spots."

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.