Chargers QB Justin Herbert has foot injury, expected to be ready for regular season

Justin Herbert will be in a boot for two weeks but is expected to be in the lineup for the regular-season opener. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Last season, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow hurt his calf early in training camp and even though he returned for Week 1, he probably wasn’t right until October.

That’s not necessarily how Justin Herbert’s season will go, but it’s not the way the Los Angeles Chargers wanted August to begin.

The Chargers announced Thursday that Herbert has an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. He’ll spend two weeks in a boot and the expectation is he’ll be ready for the regular season.

Following yesterday’s practice, Justin Herbert was diagnosed with an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot.

Doctors have recommended approximately two weeks in a boot — followed by a graduated return to play protocol — with the expectation that he will be ready for the…

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 1, 2024

There’s no reason to believe Herbert won’t be ready for the season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 8, but even if he’s back in the lineup it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s fully healthy. Ask Burrow how that can go. Burrow had trouble moving early in the season and the Bengals started 1-3.

The two star quarterbacks don’t have the same injury and perhaps Herbert won’t feel any lingering effects. Regardless, this isn’t the news Jim Harbaugh wanted early in his first training camp back in the NFL.

The Chargers presumably won’t have Herbert at all in the preseason. Easton Stick is Herbert’s backup. Herbert will miss some valuable reps in camp in new offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s offense, though he has had all summer to learn it.

The Chargers don’t seem worried about Herbert’s injury for the long term. It’s just a tough way to begin August.