According to team reports, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will miss two to six weeks with multiple abdominal injuries.
"The injuries happened at the end of an early fourth quarter scramble when Andrew was doing everything he could to get us the win," head coach Chuck Pagano announced in a statement released by the team.
The tests indicated a laceration in one of Luck's kidneys and a partial tear of abdominal muscle. The indication of the injury should not require surgery and the initial diagnosis is between two to six weeks.
"It's too early to guess how long Andrew will be out," Pagano said. "We're going to keep listening to the doctors and evaluating his progress on a week by week basis."
This will not be the first time that Luck has missed significant time this season. Luck previously had missed two games earlier this season after suffering a shoulder injury.
As a result, backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will man the starting job in Luck's absence. In the two games that Luck missed with injury, Hasselbeck was nothing short of superb. Hasselbeck completed 48-of-76 passes for 495 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
More importantly, two wins.
"We've got all the confidence in the world with Matt Hasselbeck and we're not going to put Andrew back out there until he's healed and ready to," said Pagano.
Indianapolis - who was a huge favorite to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 50 - currently sits atop the dismal AFC South with a 4-5 record, with the rest of the division not far behind.
Although the Colts have not been the prolific offense that we have been used to seeing with Luck under center, this injury does hurt. However, given Hasselbeck's recent success this season and upcoming bye week - in addition to a lousy remaining schedule - the Colts should be able to find a way to stumble into the playoffs.