By Brian Burnsed

| Special to The Tribune

Indianapolis • Tom Brady should have known better.

In the third quarter of the Jan. 22 AFC Championship, the New England Patriots’ quarterback dropped a 24-yard strike on an expertly run corner route to a man with 11-inch-wide hands, their staggering size embellished by bleach-white gloves.

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Those hands hauled in 17 touchdowns this season — a record for tight ends. And that man, Rob Gronkowski, treated Dannell Ellerbe, the Ravens linebacker tasked with covering him, as he had so many other linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks throughout the season. He cut around the smaller defender as if he didn’t exist, and made the catch.

But safety Bernard Pollard — who ended Brady’s 2008 season with a blow to the knee — lay in wait.

Pollard launched himself at the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Gronkowski, wrapping his arms around the tight end’s waist, but couldn’t bring him down until his hip landed on Gronkowski’s left heel, pushing his ankle in a direction that defied its design.

Some of his teammates felt a sense of dread wash over them as they watched the star tight end struggle to walk.

"The last thing I want to see is Gronk go down," Patriots receiver Deion Branch said. "He’s one of the key performers on our offense."

Gronkowski crept to his feet but was unable to put weight on his left leg.

"A little panic," Gronkow­ski said of his mindset after the injury. "But once I knew it wasn’t broken, I was more relieved."

However, a negative X-ray isn’t necessarily good news for Gronkowski. Unofficially, the injury is a high ankle sprain, which physicians say is a much bigger hindrance than a typical rolled ankle. As Pollard’s weight fell on Gronkowski’s ankle, a portion of the ligament that holds together the two bones in his lower leg — the tibia and fibula — twisted and tore.

Gronkowski has had a noticeable limp in the week and a half since, though he’d stopped wearing a walking boot as of Tuesday. He hopes to take the field Sunday, a mere two weeks after that ligament failed him.

"Most likely, an athlete participating in sports two weeks after a high ankle sprain is still in pain," sports medicine specialist Brock Niceler said. "How much pain and how much limitation the athlete has depends on the severity of the injury."

The severity, however, remains unclear and the Patriots are keeping the details of the injury private. Typically, Niceler said, high ankle sprains take at least four weeks to heal, though some take months. Oftentimes, players can walk without bother as little as a week after the injury but will experience severe pain when cutting and jumping — integral facets of Gronkowski’s game.

"I’d be surprised if he can be effective two weeks after the injury," said Craig Levitz, director of sports medicine at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y. "He should be able to run straight up the seam, but he probably won’t be able to make cuts downfield."

If Gronkowski plays, he may have an impact only by running vertical routes that require minimal changes in direction. And his height advantage over Giants linebackers and safeties might be nullified by the pain he feels when jumping.

"[Playing] is my decision," he said. "I know how much pain I can tolerate."

Should Gronkowski step onto the field, Giants defenders are preparing to face the tight end who amassed 101 yards on eight catches and a touchdown against them in Week 9, not a player hampered by injury.