Emotional Toll of Super Bowl Injury Still Haunts Greenlaw!
Dre Greenlaw, the linebacker for the 49ers, finds himself three months into what is expected to be a nine-month journey back to the football field. The memory of that fateful February evening in Las Vegas, where he suffered a torn Achilles, still weighs heavily on his mind.
Reflecting on the moment he was injured during Super Bowl LVIII, Greenlaw admitted to NBC Sports Bay Area that he still gets emotional about it. “Sometimes you get a little flashback and shed a couple of tears thinking about it,” he said. It was his first interview since the 49ers’ heart-wrenching overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Greenlaw vividly remembers the game. He played the first 12 defensive snaps, recording three tackles before a devastating non-contact injury forced him off the field. Surgery followed just four days later.
“It’s definitely an emotional thing because you know how hard you worked for that moment, how hard your team worked to get in that moment,” Greenlaw expressed. “You’re that close to it and you can’t go out there and compete. So it just kind of feels like you left everybody hanging.”
Greenlaw had been dealing with a right Achilles issue leading up to the Super Bowl, which had sidelined him for the Week 18 game against the Los Angeles Rams. Despite this, he played a crucial role against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional round, securing two interceptions.
Recalling the moment of his injury, Greenlaw described feeling something in his lower leg as he stepped forward onto the field. Initially thinking it was his right Achilles, he soon realized it was his left. “It was just a devastating, horrible feeling,” he said.
The soft practice field at UNLV had been a topic of discussion leading up to the game, with some speculating it may have contributed to Greenlaw’s injury. However, he dismissed this notion, attributing his injury more to his pre-existing Achilles issues.
Facing months of rehabilitation, Greenlaw’s return to the field is uncertain. General manager John Lynch anticipates him starting the season on the physically unable to perform list, potentially missing the first four games.
For Greenlaw, the focus remains on returning when he’s fully prepared. “When I feel like I can go out there and I really contribute and bring everything I got, I’m just going to do that every game,” he stated. “But when I do get the opportunity, I’m just going to play like it’s the Super Bowl every game.”
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