Kyle Van Noy injury: Lions linebacker has surgery

Just before they kicked off their final game of the preseason, the Detroit Lions announced that linebacker Kyle Van Noy had surgery on Thursday. Specifically, he had surgery to repair a "core muscle injury," which basically means that he did in fact have a sports hernia.

Here's the statement the Lions released on this news:

"Kyle Van Noy underwent a successful surgical procedure today due to a core muscle injury. We will continue to monitor Kyle's progress and provide updates when appropriate."

As Dave Birkett said on Twitter, injuries like this can take anywhere from four to six weeks to recover from. In Van Noy's case, an exact timetable is unclear, but the Lions will have an interesting decision to make from a roster standpoint. They could simply leave Van Noy on the 53-man roster and keep him inactive each week while he recovers, or they could put him on injured reserve with the designation to return. The latter option seems to make more sense, as the Lions would be able to free up a roster spot while Van Noy is on IR for the first half of the season.

With Van Noy out, Tahir Whitehead figures to remain the starting strongside linebacker. He had an excellent game last week in that role, and he once again started this week. The Lions also have Ashlee Palmer at that spot, but Whitehead looks like the favorite to start for now.