Redskins strong safety LaRon Landry is hoping stem cell treatment will allow him to avoid surgery on his ailing left Achilles tendon, according to a report published Wednesday on BleacherReport.com.
Landry, the sixth overall draft pick in 2007, is quoted extensively in the report, and he posted a hyperlink to the story on his Twitter account.
Renowned foot and ankle specialist Robert Anderson recommended surgery for Landry at the end of 2011, but Landry said he has postponed it after receiving second and third opinions.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan last month said Landry had opted not to have surgery, but Shanahan did not mention the stem cell treatment.
“Why have a surgical procedure of shaving bones down, cleaning and taking tendons, when I can have another procedure, which is not as bad,” Landry is quoted as saying.
Neither Landry nor his agent responded to requests for comment.
Landry, 27, is a scheduled to become a free agent when the new NFL league year begins on March 13. Any uncertainty about the effectiveness of the stem cell treatment is sure to affect his market value among a thin crop of free-agent safeties.
