Bo Jackson Fails Raider Physical : NFL: Team doctors not optimistic that two-sport star will play football again.

An unfortunate but foregone conclusion became official Thursday when the Raiders announced that Bo Jackson had failed his physical examination because of a serious hip injury suffered in a playoff game last January.

Raider executive Al LoCasale said that although Jackson’s personal physician, James Andrews, has held out hope that Jackson might return to football in 1992, Raider team doctors were not optimistic.

And a medical source who has maintained since March that Jackson will never play football again, put it more emphatically.

“He’s had a very serious thing happen to him,” the source said. “Anyone looking at the X-rays or the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) tests would say that he needs a total hip replacement. The guy is not going to come back.”

The legal aspects of Jackson’s Raider contract remain to be sorted out. The Raiders did not make a roster move with Jackson, but LoCasale said the team probably would do so today. Jackson has already earned a reporting bonus of $100,000 and an additional $416,000 in deferred payments. By failing his physical, Jackson stands to collect a reported $4 million on a disability insurance settlement.

Jackson, 28, was examined in Los Angeles Monday by Robert T. Rosenfeld, the Raiders’ orthopedic surgeon, and other medical experts.

Rosenfeld conferred with Andrews by Wednesday evening before arriving at a conclusion that essentially was realized last March, when it was learned that Jackson had developed avascular necrosis, a serious condition resulting in the blood supply being cut off to the area of injury, causing cartilage to deteriorate and die.

Andrews will not comment on the decision until he has examined Jackson at his office in Birmingham, Ala., later this week, his spokesman said.

Calls to Rosenfeld’s office were referred to the Raiders.

Richard Woods, Jackson’s agent who earlier this week denied that Jackson had failed medical tests, did not return calls Thursday.

Although the announcement was not a surprise, there was the realization that football had lost a unique athlete.

“He has done something that no one else has ever done,” LoCasale said. “He has starred in two sports.”

Jackson remains the only player to be named to an All-Star game in baseball and to football’s Pro Bowl.

He was injured last Jan. 13 on a 34-yard run in the Raiders’ 20-10 playoff victory over Cincinnati at the Coliseum. When Bengal linebacker Kevin Walker made the tackle, Jackson’s left leg stuck in the grass, popping his hip out awkwardly.

In four seasons with the Raiders, Jackson rushed for 2,782 yards and averaged 5.4 yards a carry. The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn joined the Raiders in 1987 under a part-time arrangement worked out so that he could fulfill his baseball obligations and play football each October.

Raider tailback Marcus Allen, forced to share the backfield and the spotlight when Jackson arrived, said he was concerned about Jackson’s ultimate recovery.

“It’s really unfortunate,” said Allen, himself on injured reserve because of an ankle injury. “As I’ve said before, to risk further injury, to risk being disabled, it’s not worth it. He’s had a great football career. He was a great asset to the team and a good friend.”

Jackson, with his flair for the dramatic, added a midseason jolt to the Raider offense that will be missed, especially this season. During his Raider career, Jackson had runs of 91, 91 and 88 yards.

“We were looking for that kind of spark to come back to our football team,” defensive end Greg Townsend said. “We’ve been struggling on offense, and I think he could have put life back into our offense.”

Jackson’s teammates paid tribute to a rare two-sport athlete.

“I think everyone knew all along that his injury was serious and that playing football would be hard for him to do,” quarterback Jay Schroeder said. “I’m saddened for Bo because of the type of person he is and the phenomenal athlete he is.”

Defensive end Howie Long, one of Jackson’s closest friends, did not want to believe the news.

“If in fact he is done, it’s disheartening,” Long said. “You’re being robbed. The public is being robbed of a great player.”

Raider Coach Art Shell said: “I hate to see anybody go down, because he’s a young man. You’d like to see him finish out his career. It’s disappointing, but he had a good career while he played the game of football. . . . The guy’s a great player, and we’re going to miss him. But we’ve got to go on.”

Jackson plans to continue his rehabilitation with the hope of returning next season to the Chicago White Sox. The baseball team has asked Santa Monica water therapist Lynda Huey to develop a program specifically designed to strengthen the muscles surrounding Jackson’s injured hip.

However, James Boscardin, the White Sox team physician, told the Associated Press that Jackson’s hip would never be the same.

“Everybody has to realize Bo had a serious injury to his hip, and I don’t think any of us recommended that he play football or thought he was going to be able to play football,” Boscardin said.

Times staff writer Chris Baker contributed to this story.