Michael Thomas is headed to injured reserve. Yes, again.
Dennis Allen announced the news on a conference call Thursday after another MRI failed to show the progress team doctors had been hoping for with his injured foot. He will undergo surgery.
The head coach qualified it as a "complication," but that it wasn't a setback suffered during the rehab.
"There's just some things you don't have any control over and this is one of those things," Allen said.
The head coach affirmed that Thomas had been working back diligently, but the recovery simply didn't go as planned. He has been inactive since leaving the field with the injury in Week 3, which Allen described as a dislocated second toe.
Allen wouldn't rule out Thomas returning, but said he doesn't "anticipate" that being a possibility. IR rules in 2022 stipulate that players must be out at least four weeks before being designated to return.
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Thomas' return was a highly anticipated element in the 2022 season, and got off to a roaring start with a two-touchdown performance in the season-opening win over the Atlanta Falcons.
It's a similar story to what happened in 2021, when Thomas' return was anticipated early in the season but never happened. That was due to an ankle injury suffered in Week 1 of the 2020 season that he returned from but never truly got healthy.
While Thomas' continued absence will be a negative, the team does appear on the verge of getting some reinforcements with Jarvis Landry making his return to practice on Thursday after missing the last three weeks. PJ Williams was also back on the field after spending the past four weeks on injured reserve.
The Saints face off with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.
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