Longview will likely play the first few games of the 2013 football season without its defensive line stalwart.

Zaycoven Henderson aggravated a foot injury that he said he first suffered during the spring while lifting weights. Henderson, who is committed to TCU, told ETSN.fm early Saturday evening that he dropped some weights on his foot during offseason training in the spring semester, but didn't think much about it until a teammate stepped on his foot during practice last week. The pain prevented him from playing at the typical level he's accustomed to, he said.

Henderson said X-rays revealed a Jones fracture, which is a fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone of the foot. The fifth metatarsal is at the base of the small toe. Henderson is scheduled to have surgery Monday morning at Good Shepherd Medical Center's Plaza 1 in Longview.

While the operation requires him to miss some time, it is not a season-ending injury. Henderson said the initial timetable for his return is Longview's Oct. 11 District 12-5A road contest against Rockwall-Heath. In other words, with Longview's bye week set for Oct. 4, he should miss only one of the Lobos' District 12-5A contests, the Sept. 27 opener against Mesquite at Lobo Stadium.

Henderson will no doubt be missed during the Lobos' non-district slate, which starts Aug. 30 in Allen in a meeting with Coppell, which is No. 10 in the Associated Press Class 5A preseason poll.

The Sept. 14 game against Olive Branch, Miss., in Shreveport and a Sept. 20 home meeting with rival Lufkin will also be tough for the Lobos' defensive front without Henderson, who had 48 tackles, 10 for loss, and two sacks in a breakout junior season.

 

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