Sept. 8, 2003
University of Iowa all-America strong safety Bob Sanders will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right foot tomorrow. He’s expected to be out of action for three to four weeks.
Sanders, a 5-8, 202-pound senior from Erie, Pa., has been troubled by a foot injury throughout the pre-season. The injury hampered his performance and preparation this season. Iowa’s Team Physcian, Dr. Ned Amendola, said it was time to take care of a problem that has bothered Bob Sanders for a lengthy period of time.
Iowa Football Coach Kirk Ferentz said the timing was unfortunate, but the action is necessary.
“This injury has bothered Bob for a long time,” said Ferentz. “We all thought there was a chance he could play through it, but that won’t be the case. This injury is just not going to allow him to go forward the way we would all like. I’m optimistic the surgery will go well and his recovery will be quick. We remain hopeful that Bob can still experience an enjoyable and productive senior year.”
Sanders was named to the Sporting News fourth all-America team last year and was named by the same publication to its 2003 pre-season all-America team. He has been named to the first all-Big Ten team the last two seasons. Sanders played as a true freshman in 2000 and has not been redshirted.
Sanders didn’t start last week’s season opener because of the injury, but played and was credited with seven tackles. He has 283 career tackles to rank 14th on Iowa’s all-time tackle charts.