Tyler Eifert out three months due to lingering Pro Bowl injury

Tyler Eifert is a talented tight end and a very important weapon for the Cincinnati Bengals, but he has had some injury issues.

There's another one. This time he'll be out three months due to ankle surgery, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Enquirer said that the injury goes all the way back to the Pro Bowl.

Eifert hurt his ankle in the Pro Bowl. Nobody thought much about it at the time, because the season was over and it didn't seem serious. But almost four months later the ankle was still an issue and Eifert opted for surgery. That's pretty much any team's nightmare scenario, when it comes to their players participating in the Pro Bowl.

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Presuming the surgery goes well and the three-month recovery time is accurate, that means Eifert should be recovered by the regular-season opener. But there are still concerns, primarily that Eifert won't be on the field for training camp and probably most of the preseason. It's easy to see him getting off to a slow start as he gets back in the flow and gets back in football shape. Eifert missed almost the entire 2014 season because of an elbow injury and missed three games last year with a neck issue and a concussion.

Eifert is a difference maker when he's healthy, with 13 touchdowns last season. And he's an even more valuable player this season for the Bengals, who are retooling their receiving corps after losing a couple wideouts in free agency. So the Bengals need the surgery to help the problem and have their tight end back by Week 1.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab