Markus Wheaton suffers broken finger in return to practice

Markus Wheaton had just returned to practice from an appendectomy when a new injury has him on the sideline.

The day that Markus Wheaton returned to practice, he was sidelined at practice. After practice, head coach John Fox noted that the newest set back is a broken pinky finger for the free agent signee. Fox mentioned he is not overly concerned, but this is just another tough break in a long line of them for Wheaton.

This has not been the most comforting calendar year for Markus Wheaton. Wheaton entered his contract year in 2016 with the hopes of seeing the field and earning a big pay day. A shoulder injury threw season completely off track and left him playing in just three games.

Wheaton had all of the time to recover and was completely fine by the time he signed with the Bears. Then, an emergency appendectomy sidelined him for a few weeks, including the team’s first preseason game. It was not an hour into his first practice back from the surgery that his pinky broke.

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This should not be a major injury that threatens his regular season. However, it does cancel any chance he had at playing in week two of the preseason. His week three status is absolutely in jeopardy, and now a player who has moved to a completely new team, system and quarterback is going to open his first season well behind the learning curve. These are situations that are tough to blame Wheaton for but are equally as frustrating to the fan base as they are Wheaton. Here is to hoping that Wheaton will be on the field before the Bears third preseason game, and he at least gets some practice reps with Mike Glennon before the start of the season.