Injured Te’o would rather be hitting than sitting

SAN DIEGO » Manti Te’o no longer walks with a protective boot on his right foot or with a limp, but the pain he feels is evident.

Not in his fractured foot, perhaps, but in being sidelined yet again.

For the third time in two NFL seasons a foot injury has forced him to vacate his inside linebacker spot with the San Diego Chargers for a place in rehab.

And after the Chargers’ 23-20 loss to Kansas City Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium, the fourth game in a row he has been sidelined this season, it was clear both Te’o and his team miss each other.

"We just hope and pray that he gets back as soon as possible," outside linebacker Dwight Freeney said.

On a day when the Chiefs dominated in time of possession, 39 minutes to 21 minutes, they needed all available defensive hands — and feet.

But Te’o, a North Shore native, was on the sidelines in powder blue shorts and a gray T-shirt with the growing cast of "inactive" players trying to exhort his teammates and replacement, Kavell Conner.

"He’s very frustrated," said Donald Butler, who was to have solidified the inside linebacker position with Te’o.

"Here’s a guy who has gotten progressively better each and every game and was working hard in the offseason to come back and for this to be nagging him, well, I know it is bugging him a lot," Butler said.

It is, indeed, a sore point with Te’o, who hesitates to put a date on when he might be able to return or talk about the rehabilitation process except in the most banal generalities.

The hopeful expectation is that he might come back Nov. 16 against Oakland, which would mean missing two more games.

But the Chargers are loath to discuss the extent of injuries or timetables, saying only that he is "week to week."

Last season they termed the same fractured right foot a "sprain" for more than six months until Te’o posted X-rays of the foot on his Instagram account after undergoing offseason surgery.

Te’o missed four games last year with the "sprain" and then spent much of his rookie season trying to play catch-up on the field. By season’s end he was hitting his stride and had 11 tackles in the victory over Kansas City that helped clinch a playoff berth.

This year he suffered a sprained left foot in the exhibition season and returned to lead the team in tackles with 19 before fracturing the right foot against Buffalo last month.

Sitting instead of hitting is something Te’o had little knowledge of or experience with at Notre Dame, where he played in all 51 games over the course of his All-American career. Not since his junior year at Punahou School had he sat out a game.

The pain Te’o feels from being sidelined is being plowed into rehabilitation, teammates say. "When he comes to our (linebacker) meetings he’s all sweaty because he’s put so much into his rehab," Butler said."You can see he has worked hard."

Te’o said his regimen includes "20 miles a day" on a bike. "You can’t equate it to football and I can’t run yet, but I’m pushing myself so that when I do come back, hopefully, I’m not that far behind."

Freeney said, "Not everybody does that and it shows how determined he is to come back. He’s focused from a mental and physical standpoint to get back as soon as he can. You can see that in him."

Te’o said, "It’s very frustrating not to be able to be out there with my brothers playing."

With that he put on his cap and walked out of the Chargers’ locker room, the pain in his heart, if no longer in his right foot.

Reach Ferd Lewis at 529-4820 or at flewis@staradvertiser.com.