Rob Gronkowski injury: Patriots TE has surgery, recovery timetable unknown

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has already had surgery on his forearm and the New England Patriots tight end can begin the recovery process on an injury suffered in Sunday's blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Gronkowski broke his forearm in Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, and will be out for several weeks, although an exact timetable is unknown.

Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk reports that Gronkowski had the surgery Monday morning, and that a league source indicates that the third-year tight end will "probably" be out a few weeks. The tight end hurt his forearm on the team's last extra point in a 59-24 win, leading to questions about whether he should have been playing at that point.

Gronkowski has been a revelation since being drafted in 2010 out of Arizona, scoring 37 touchdowns in his three years in the league and on Sunday becoming the first tight end ever to score 10 touchdowns in three consecutive seasons. He leads all tight ends in receiving yards and touchdowns this season. Tom Brady has shown a preference for throwing to his big tight ends the past few seasons, with Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez both going to the Pro Bowl last season and both players being signed to historically large contract extensions for tight ends this offseason. Now, Gronkowski is out for an extended period of time, and Hernandez hasn't played in three weeks due to an ankle injury that has limited him to 17 catches in four games this year.

The Pats also have Daniel Fells, Michael Hoomanawanui, and Visanthe Shiancoe on the roster at tight end, with Fells and Hoomanawanui combining for four catches this year.