He most likely ended his year with the same injury on Sunday, this time breaking his left one in the team’s 31-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
The team only announced that Mathews suffered a fractured left clavicle, and did not release an estimated timetable for his recovery. But when he suffered the same injury back in August, their estimation was that it would take 4-to-6 weeks to recover. Thus, it’s safe to assume he will not return until next season.
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The injury occurred with 11:11 to go in the second quarter. On 3rd-and-16, Mathews took a short pass on the right side of the field and cut left toward the sideline, trying to bounce it to the outside. However, he was met by a multitude of Panthers defenders who converged violently on the running back as he spun to the ground short of the first down marker. As he came to the sideline, it was apparent something was wrong as he walked off the field favoring his arm and headed into the locker room.
Head coach Norv Turner and the team will address the injury during Monday afternoon’s press conference at Chargers Park. We will have more information about Mathews and his broken clavicle then.
