Brady To Undergo Surgery

The Boston Herald is reporting that Tom Brady will have surgery to repair a hernia. Evidently, Brady played as much as half the season with the injury. Her is the article as it appears in THE BOSTON HERALD:

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady played half of the season with a hernia and will have surgery to correct the problem, probably within two weeks, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The hernia problem did not keep Brady from practicing or force him to miss any time, but he did throw some passes uncharacteristically high as the season went on, indicating the injury may have affected his release.
Brady passed up playing in the Pro Bowl in Hawaii on doctors’ orders. During the season he was listed on the weekly injury report from time to time. Brady suffered what was reported by the team to be a shin injury diving into the end zone in Buffalo, Dec. 11. However, Brady wore a knee brace the next week against Tampa and for the rest of the season, indicating the injury was more likely to his knee, not shin.
He was also listed at times as having a shoulder injury, though never groin or hernia problems.
A hernia, according to Steve Bushee, head athletic trainer in the Boston College Sports Medicine department, “usually means a tear in the abdominal wall that allows tissue to poke through and may require surgery.”
A sports hernia, said Bushee, is a disruption in the inguinal canal — in the groin area — and may persist a long time. Surgery can repair it.
Despite the laundry list of ailments, Brady had one of his better seasons, throwing for a career high 4,110 yards with 26 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 92.3 rating.
Pats players were well aware that Brady was hobbled during the year.
“Yeah, of course,” Willie McGinest said from the Super Bowl in Detroit.
McGinest was reminded that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb sat out the second half of the season with a similar injury.
“That’s Donovan,” McGinest said. “We’re not talking about Donovan, we’re talking about Tom. I didn’t know how severe it was, but I knew it was bothering him. But you have guys who play with all types of injuries across the league and on our team. Being the kind of competitor he is, he wasn’t going to let it slow him down.”
Brady played at such a high level that he merited consideration for player of the year but lost out yesterday to Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. MVP Shaun Alexander was also in the mix for the Fed Ex Award, announced in Detroit.