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New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is having surgery on his broken forearm today, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald on Twitter. "Gronk" injured his left arm in the Patriots' 41-28 victory over the Houston Texans on Saturday.
The win advanced the Patriots to the AFC Championship Game, in which they'll play host to the Baltimore Ravens as both teams battle it out for a shot at the Super Bowl.
Gronkowski originally injured the same arm while blocking on special teams on Nov. 18. He underwent surgery at that point, and missed five games before returning to action in Week 17, when the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 28-0.
As to whether Gronkowski returned before he was truly ready, that's not particularly likely, given that the Patriots had already secured a playoff spot by Week 17 and they had no reason to rush one of their star players back to the lineup.
The star tight end hurt his arm on the eighth offensive play of the game for New England, when he stretched out to make a catch, but landed directly on the arm. There was really no other way he could land, and it cost him.
He's done for the remainder of the postseason, so the Patriots will need to rely more heavily on Aaron Hernandez when they play Baltimore and, perhaps, in the Super Bowl.