One day after breaking the news that Demaryius Thomas will not participate in the combine due to a broken foot, we can tell you of another receiver now on the mend.  Sources have confirmed today that Danario Alexander, the leading receiver for the Missouri Tigers last season has been ruled out of participating in both the combine and his pro-day workout after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday.

Alexander originally hurt his knee while participating at the Senior Bowl in January.  The injury occurred during Wednesday’s practice but was not serious enough to keep Alexander from playing in the game.  An MRI the following week showed he had a defect in the cartilage of his left knee.  A team of specialists, including Dr. James Andrews, consulted with Alexander and recommended he undergo a surgical procedure to alleviate the situation prior to the combine.

Alexander suffered a prior knee injury in college, tearing an ACL in the same left knee during the 2007 Big Twelve title game.  The two injuries are not related and Alexander will send a letter, signed by Dr. Uribe who performed the surgery, to all 32 NFL teams stating as much.  Alexander will be ready to go by training camp.

Alexander’s combine preparations were going well.  During recent training the 6-foot, 4-inch, 221-pound receiver had been running forty times that hovered in the very low 4.4-second range besides posting a broad jump of 11-feet, 1-inch and touching 43 inches on the vertical jump.

Training for the combine has seemingly taken its’ toll on a top player today as several sources on the scene have told us Georgia Tech receiver Demaryius Thomas allegedly hurt his foot while practicing the three cone drill.  It looks as though Thomas has broken a bone in his foot.  The big receiver,  who is training in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been tearing it up recently.  Sources have told us after weighing in at 220-pounds Thomas had been timed as fast as 4.38-seconds in the forty.  This afternoon Thomas was seen on crutches.  Update 11PM.

Update 11 PM

We’ve since talked to several sources who were on hand to watch Thomas prepare for the combine and all the reviews have been glowing.  Some told us many of the other players on hand at API preparing for the combine were amazed at the athleticism Thomas displayed on a daily basis.  He was not only fast but very explosive and strong.  The receiver coaches on hand were astonished at the route running ability the 237-pound Thomas displayed besides the ability to make all the receptions.  Several we spoke with said they could not wait for his workout at the combine and, in a bit of irony,  thought it would be reminiscent of the workout turned in by former Yellow Jacket receiver Calvin Johnson.

How will this effect the draft stock of Thomas?  Todd France told us general managers have said since Thomas will be ready to go for OTA’s it won’t hurt much.  And while we agree we think the inability to workout in front of scouts makes it almost impossible for Thomas to make a big leap up draft boards.

Update 7:30 PM

Todd France, the agent for Demaryius Thomas, confirmed with us a little while ago his client did in fact break a foot today.  France told us the big receiver will be checked by specialists to determine if surgery is needed and admitted it is very possible that a pin may need to be inserted into the foot of Thomas to hasten the healing.

The recovery time will be four-to-six weeks and it is very questionable whether or not Thomas will workout for NFL teams prior to the draft.  The issue is even a four week recovery will bring Thomas into the middle of March.  At that point he’ll be a bit rusty and won’t be able to train all out as he has been.

France did confirm that Thomas had run a 4.38 forty last week after weighing in at 227-pounds.  France tolud us the run was filmed and every NFL team would receive a copy.  More later this evening.

Other news from Arizona has former Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham looking very good as he prepares for the combine.  Sources have told us Gresham looks fit and fast.  He’s catching the ball very well in drills and though not yet 100%, seems close to full strength.

The same cannot be said for Eric Decker. Decker has not been doing much running and limited pass catching since his since the surgery to repair a Lisfranc sprain was completed in early November.  Sources say the recovery time from that surgery is six months, which brings Decker to the beginning of May.

With barely a week before the combine begins players continue to prepare for the biggest job interview of their lives.  Tonight we check on the condition of several injured players, including one who will not participate in the combine.  Also we alert you to a few sleeper prospects who have been recently turning in great training numbers.

- While in Orlando at Shrine Game practices we reported Kansas State tight end Jaron Mastrud was walking around the team hotel with his right foot in a boot.  Sources have told us Mastud, who had surgery in December for a stress fracture, will not participate in the combine workout.  The injury occurred some time during the final month of the season and Mastrud played the final four games of the campaign with pain in his foot.  The pain lingered after extended rest so a CT scan was performed on December 12^th and Mastrud was diagnosed with a stress fracture.  Three days later doctors performed surgery and inserted a pin to speed up the healing process.  Mastrud had a second CT scan in January which showed the operation was a success and the fracture was healing ahead of schedule.  Sources told us the boot was taken off two weeks ago and after more than a month of running in a pool to keep in shape, the big tight end has taken to lightly running outside.  Mastrud has not been cleared by doctors to resume a full training schedule and except for possibly the bench press, will not take part in any running or jumping tests at the combine.  The present game plan is for a private pro-day workout in either late March or early April, depending on when doctors give the go ahead.

- One player that’s returned from injury with greater success is Clemson’s Ricky Sapp.  The Tigers defensive star tore an ACL in his right knee during the late part of his junior campaign in 2008.  Eight months after surgery he was back on the field for practice, though his injury was not completely healed.  Sources told us Sapp was playing on a knee that was just 65% last season.  Clemson did not properly rehabilitate the knee and as a result his right quadriceps muscle was not properly working.  At the end of the season Sapp started consulting with a specialist from New York city to alleviate the situation.  During the interim he missed the Senior Bowl because of lingering effects.  A letter went out to all 32 NFL franchises alerting them of the situation.  Right now Sapp’s knee is about 99% and he is expected to be at full strength by the time he takes to the field at Lucas Oil Stadium one week from Monday for his combine workout.  Sapp’s weight stands around 254-pounds, about ten more than he played at last season.

- Sources have told us Kareem Jackson has looked great in recent workouts, which is no surprise.  Jackson’s defensive back mechanics have been called into question and to improve his skills the Alabama junior has been working with former defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson, whose specialty is coaching defensive backs.

- Another cornerback turning in good workouts is Trevard Lindley of Kentucky.  Lindley, who suffered from leg and hamstring injuries last season, is getting faster as the days go by.  Sources have told us Lindley is running in the low 4.4’s (4.42) in training and has topped 40-inches on the vertical jump.

- Junior Thaddeus Gibson, the defensive end/outside linebacker from Ohio State, was measured at 6-feet, 2-inches and in the low 240-pound area recently.  He has been running his forty’s in the 4.6-second area.  Those we’ve spoken with compare Gibson to another Buckeye junior, Brian Hartline, as a prospect that won’t be highly rated moving towards the draft but will be productive at the next level.

- Gibson’s college teammate, defensive tackle Doug Worthington, recently tipped the scales at 292-pounds and has been consistently running under 4.9-seconds in the forty.

- Earl Mitchell of Arizona is another defensive tackling tearing it up at training.  Mitchell is up to 295-pounds, six more than he weighed in Orlando for the East/West game.  He’s run as fast as 4.78-seconds in the forty besides posting a vertical jump of 30-inches.

- Since December we have been following the story of IUP cornerback Akwa Owusa-Ansah.  The small school star struggled with a torn labrum last season and the injury requires surgery to repair.  We were told back in January that Owusa-Ansah would participate in the combine workout except for the bench press, then undergo surgery to repair the labrum which was to be performed by Dr. James Bradley of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The situation has changed.  Today sources told us Owusa-Ansah will try and complete the entire combine workout, then perform again for scouts on his pro-day on March 15^th, before undergoing a surgical procedure on his labrum soon after.