Leonard Hankerson is lost for the year

The Washington Redskins have lost rookie wide receiver Leonard Hankerson for the remainder of the season after he suffered a subluxation of his right hip and a torn labrum in Sunday’s 20-9 loss to the Dolphins.

Defensive end Kedric Golston, meanwhile, will miss an indefinite amount of time with torn ligaments in his knee. Both injuries were announced Monday by Coach Mike Shanahan.

Late in Sunday’s game, Hankerson made a 9-yard catch and, as he was tackled, his hip popped out of joint and then popped back into the socket. Hankerson had to be helped off the field, and painfully hobbled around the locker room following the game.

The injury ended a career-best eight-catch, 106-yard performance for Hankerson, the first Redskins rookie wide receiver to top the 100-yard mark since Rod Gardner achieved the feat in October of 2001.

Shanahan said Hankerson, who was placed on injured reserve, will see a specialist and then determine whether surgery is necessary. The coach expected a recovery time of roughly four months.

“He played a great game,” Shanahan said of Hankerson, whom the team drafted in the third round of last April’s draft. “He’s got a big upside, as we saw yesterday. I like the way he handles himself, like the way he works. It was a setback for him. He was devastated when he found out, but he’ll work through it.”

The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Hankerson rose quickly through the ranks of Washington’s receivers in the last four weeks. Inactive for the first five games of the season after a rocky preseason, he made his debut in Week 7 against Carolina, but didn’t record a catch. The next week, against Buffalo, Hankerson had a grab for 23 yards. Last week against San Francisco, Hankerson had four catches for 34 yards while making his first start. He started again against Miami and became the first Redskins wide receiver to top the 100-yard mark this season.

“Through the preseason, I saw a player who was pretty inconsistent. You’d see consistency in practice, but it didn’t carry over into games,” Shanahan said. “Then you saw a guy, who as he grew, he was becoming a pro player, a player who was a lot more serious. The way he practiced on a day-to-day basis, you could see a light went on, and you could see his competitiveness as he ran the scout team against our players, which gave him the opportunity to start and earn a position. And then you could see with the way he played yesterday, when he caught the football, he’d turn upfield, and how he reached up and caught some big-time balls. That’s what you’re looking for.”

Hankerson now joins running back Tim Hightower (torn ACL), left guard Kory Lichtensteiger (torn ACL), tight end Chris Cooley (knee), fellow rookie Jarvis Jenkins (torn ACL) and cornerback Phillip Buchanon (knee, neck) on the injured reserve list.

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(washingtonpost.com)