Injured cornerback Jimmy Smith wheeled around the Ravens locker room Thursday on a scooter, his left knee propped up and his left foot in a large, black boot.
“It's a six-month period and timetable for it, so it's been three weeks,” Smith said in his first public comments since having season-ending foot surgery Nov. 6. “I guess I got some time on this little scooter I got here.”
Smith confirmed that he suffered a Lisfranc injury, a dislocation of his foot, in the Ravens’ 27-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 26. The nature of the injury was confirmed during a visit to noted orthopedist Dr. Robert Anderson earlier this month.
If all goes well in Smith’s rehabilitation, he should be fully recovered around May, giving him some time to prepare for the 2015 season.
“I'm more just [angry] because I thought it was something more minor, but going in there and finding out what it was and them telling me how severe it was” was revealing, Smith said. “But it's like any other injury. I'll bounce back. I'll be fine. … It’s just unfortunate, but it’s part of the game. I have to deal with it.”
The injury ended what was shaping up to the best season of Smith’s young career. The 26-year-old was developing into the shutdown corner the Ravens were hoping he’d become when they drafted him in the first round of the 2011 draft.
In eight games this year, Smith allowed just 20 completions for 163 yards and no touchdowns while being targeted only 39 times. He also had one interception, eight passes defended and 28 total tackles.
"It just makes it difficult, period, just the fact that I can't be out here with my teammates and help contribute," Smith said. "Like I said, it's an injury that everybody deals with in the league. I'm not too stressed. No matter how great this season was, I was happy that I got to play as long as I did this season. I'm happy that it didn't happen in the first three games or something. Like I said, you live with it. You get over it. I'll be back."