Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

Freshly anointed franchise quarterback Cam Newton now has a more pressing concern than the Carolina Panthers' desolate wide receiving corps.

The team announced that Newton is scheduled to undergo minor ankle surgery on Wednesday at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

A source tells NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport that the procedure will "tighten ankle ligaments" that had been giving Newton pain since rolling the ankle in a pivotal late-season victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Renowned foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson will perform the operation.

Newton is fully expected to return for training camp after missing some or all of offseason practices, per Rapoport. The recovery timetable is set at four months, adds NFL Media's Albert Breer.

The proposed four-month absence is particularly concerning for Newton because his top four wide receivers from last season are not returning. He won't get a chance to work on timing or build a rapport with his new batch of targets until late July or August.

That obstacle can certainly be overcome, but this is the latest strike against a 2013 division winner that seems more likely to finally get healthy under the salary cap than contend for the Super Bowl in 2014.

Re: Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

4 months out-

not really the news you want to hear about your running quarterback
should leave a little time to get timing down with new receivers

Re: Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

Wonder why he waited till the middle March to have this done. Seems like this is terrible timing.

Maybe they thought it would heal up on its own and just concluded that it wasn't happening?

Re: Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

He re-injured it flopping at a church pick-up game.

Re: Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

Rise up, Scam!

Re: Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

I read a comment on the Carolina Huddle where they are blaiming it on a cheap shot in our last game with them.

things are unraveling there

he wouldn't have waited for surgery if they assumed it needed to be done right away. Must be it was lingering and still causing him issues

Hope he has a full recovery and we simply shut him down

Re: Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

Now that was genius!

Re: Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to have ankle surgery
 

They say he should be okay for training camp, so, this shouldn't be too big of a deal.