Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, who flew to Philadelphia on Monday to see a specialist for an abdominal injury that has bothered him in recent weeks, has undergone successful surgery and is expected to miss multiple games, according to Seattle head coach Pete Carroll.
"I know you all want to know about Marshawn," Carroll opened his Wednesday press conference ahead of Sunday's Week 12 home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. "He's had the surgery and he's going to stay back east for a number of days until it's time to come back and we'll see what happens when he returns. The doctor was very optimistic about a quick recovery and that could mean within three or four weeks, something like that, there's a chance. So we'll see how that works out. Other than that, everything went very well."
Carroll said Lynch's surgery was related to a sports hernia repair. Asked if Lynch could miss the rest of the season, Carroll said, "There's a chance, but we don't expect that to happen." At this point, Carroll said the club will keep Lynch on its 53-man active roster with the hope that he'll return late in the season.
"The doctor projected that he could get back pretty quickly," Carroll said. "So they fixed everything that was wrong and the doctor was very optimistic about his return."
Rookie running back Thomas Rawls, who ran for a franchise rookie-record 209 yards starting for the injured Lynch this past Sunday, will work as the team's No. 1 running back in Lynch's absence. Carroll said veteran Fred Jackson and fullback Derrick Coleman could see their workloads increase as well. The team also re-signed running back Bryce Brown for depth at the position.
All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, who also met with the media on Wednesday, said he had spoken with Lynch "numerous times" and pointed out that Tuesday's operation was the first of Lynch's nine-year career.
"He's in good spirits," Sherman said. "It happens, he obviously knows, playing this game. He's gotten through nine years or so without having a surgery, so he's kind of surprised by the way it went down, but he's doing fantastic."
