The Patriots Reportedly Gave Rob Gronkowski An Unnecessary Arm Surgery, And That's Why He's Still Injured

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has yet to play in 2013 after having four surgeries on his broken forearm in a seven-month period.

According to a report from Mike Petraglia of WEEI, the entire thing could have avoided if the team let the break heal on its own.

Petraglia reports that the team first performed surgery on the tight end last fall in hopes that he could be back for the 2012 playoffs. Gronkowski came back in Week 17 and re-broke the same arm, requiring another surgery. After two more surgeries to deal with an infection, he has still yet to step onto the field in 2013.

If this is true, it's a possible explanation for an earlier report that Gronkowski's "inner circle" didn't want him playing until Week 6, no matter what the team doctors said.

Gronkowski's status for this Sunday is still up in the air.

It's clear that the Patriots need him. Tom Brady's historic streak of games with at least one touchdown pass ended last week in a 13-6 loss to Cincinnati. While the Pats are still one of the top teams in the league, they're still a tier below Denver and Seattle without weapons like Gronkowski on the perimeter.