With another big injury, this preseason isn't going well for the Colts

Add the Indianapolis Colts to the list of teams that might want to put their remaining healthy players in bubble wrap and wait for the regular season to start.

We all know by now that quarterback Andrew Luck hasn’t returned to practice due to offseason shoulder surgery and nobody knows whether he’ll be ready for the season opener. Now the Colts have lost center Ryan Kelly to surgery, with an uncertain timetable for return.

Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star reported Kelly will need surgery for a foot injury. Kelly, the Colts’ first-round pick a year ago, had been hoping that rest would heal the injury, but that didn’t work. Holder reported the team is planning on Kelly missing some time in the regular season, but there was no timetable set for his return. (UPDATE: Holder later reported Kelly will probably miss six-to-eight weeks.)

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Center injuries don’t get the same attention as injuries to skill-position players, but they’re tough for teams to deal with. Centers generally make line calls and are not easy to replace. For a Colts line that hasn’t done well protecting Luck, losing Kelly for however long is a tough blow. It’s especially rough considering Luck is coming off an injury of his own, and protection of him this season will be of the utmost importance.

The Colts are one of the teams that have been hit hardest by injuries the past few weeks. The Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins are the other teams that are hoping to get out of August with no more players suffering season-ending injuries. That’s not the way you want to go into the regular season.

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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!
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