Collinsworth Claims Bengals Did Not Properly Diagnose Injury to His Knee

CINCINNATI —  Wide receiver Cris Collinsworth says the Cincinnati Bengals misdiagnosed a knee injury that hobbled him late last season.

Collinsworth, 30, who is miffed at the Bengals for their decision not to include him on the team’s off-season list of protected players, says that the Bengals did not properly diagnose the injury to his right knee that hampered him during the last four weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. Bengal assistant general manager Mike Brown disputes the claim.

But, Collinsworth said he learned the full extent of his injury only after getting a second medical opinion.

“The only reason I got a second opinion was because they put me on that (unprotected) list,” he said of the Bengals’ management. “I figured that any team interested in signing me would want to know how my knee is, and I didn’t have anything definite to say, based on what they had told me.”

Last Friday, the day after he learned of his free-agent status, Collinsworth consulted Cincinnati orthopedic surgeon Frank Noyes. Noyes ordered a bone scan--a test Collinsworth says he had not undergone--and the scan revealed small fractures in the knee.

“He told me not to do anything I didn’t have to--even to walk as little as possible--and that it should be completely healed in a couple of months,” Collinsworth said. “It was really good news, because his report said there was absolutely nothing wrong with the knee structurally.”

Brown said the Bengals’ management and physicians did not consider the discovery of the microfractures to be significant.

“The remedy was the same in both cases,” Brown said. “Whatever you call the condition, the treatment prescribed was identical--rest. If you’re asking if we think we missed something, the answer is no.