The Panthers said the fourth-year quarterback fractured two bones in his lower back called transverse processes, bony protrusions from the back of a vertebrae bone in the spine.
The injury does not typically result in long-term injury, a sports doctor said, but pain must be managed for up to a month.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo fractured two transverse processes in his back in an Oct. 27 game against Washington, according to media reports, and missed the team’s next game.
Panthers officials wouldn’t comment on Newton’s football status but were privately doubtful he could play in Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay. The Panthers said Newton will stay in Carolinas Medical Center overnight for observation but had no other internal or apparent head injuries.
They expressed relief that Newton hadn’t been more badly hurt considering the heavy damage to his truck.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson told an Observer reporter at the hospital Tuesday afternoon that he had spoken to Newton’s doctors but had not seen the player himself. “He’s in good shape,” Richardson said.
Eyewitness accounts differed on the speed of the vehicles involved and the collision’s apparent cause.
