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TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms may play again this season after surgery to remove his ruptured spleen, coach Jon Gruden said on Monday.
Simms, 26, was injured during Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers. He was taken to a Tampa hospital after the game for emergency surgery.
"He's going to be just fine. There is a chance he can come back and play this season," Gruden told a news conference. "He is a tough guy. He wants to play this week."
Simms is listed in a stable condition. The mimimum recovery time for surgery of this type is usually six weeks.
Gruden said Simms had complained of shortness of breath and pain during the game but showed no symptions of a ruptured spleen.
Simms left the game at the end of the third quarter and went to the locker room where he was given intravenous fluids. He came back in the fourth quarter and played the rest of the game.
Simms led a second half rally that give Tampa Bay a 24-23 lead with five minutes to play, but Carolina's John Kasey kicked a 46-yard field goal with two seconds to play for a 26-23 Panther win.
Gruden said rookie Bruce Gradkowski from the University of Toledo would be the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay's next game on Oct. 8 at New Orleans with Tim Rattay as the backup.
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Simms, 26, was injured during Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers. He was taken to a Tampa hospital after the game for emergency surgery.
"He's going to be just fine. There is a chance he can come back and play this season," Gruden told a news conference. "He is a tough guy. He wants to play this week."
Simms is listed in a stable condition. The mimimum recovery time for surgery of this type is usually six weeks.
Gruden said Simms had complained of shortness of breath and pain during the game but showed no symptions of a ruptured spleen.
Simms left the game at the end of the third quarter and went to the locker room where he was given intravenous fluids. He came back in the fourth quarter and played the rest of the game.
Simms led a second half rally that give Tampa Bay a 24-23 lead with five minutes to play, but Carolina's John Kasey kicked a 46-yard field goal with two seconds to play for a 26-23 Panther win.
Gruden said rookie Bruce Gradkowski from the University of Toledo would be the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay's next game on Oct. 8 at New Orleans with Tim Rattay as the backup.
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