Rob Gronkowski Is Having Back Surgery, and Of Course, Some Fans Are Blaming the 'Madden' Curse for It (UPDATE)

Everyone thinks the 'Madden' curse is to blame for Rob Gronkowski's latest back injury.

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UPDATED 12/1/16 9:50 p.m. ET: The Patriots have confirmed Gronkowski is likely out for the remainder of the year.

NE releases statement on Gronk: "We don't expect that he will be able to play for the remainder of the 2016 season." https://t.co/OhNiFBrb1n

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Patriots fans got some really bad news on Thursday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Rob Gronkowski has been diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back, and he’s going to have to undergo back surgery on Friday. That surgery could very well land him on the bench for the remainder of the 2016-17 NFL season, and even in a best-case scenario, Gronk will probably only be able to play again if the Pats make a really deep run in the playoffs. And that will obviously be a tall task when you consider that they’re now going to be without one of their best offensive weapons . So yeah, not good news.

This is actually going to be the third back surgery that Gronk is going to have to undergo during his football career, so it’s clear that this has become a trend. But don’t tell that to all of the people who are trying to make sense of Gronk’s latest injury at the moment. Despite the fact that it’s been awhile since an NFL player who appeared on the cover of the Madden franchise has suffered from the so-called "Madden curse", there are lots of people who are citing the curse while discussing Gronk’s injury on Thursday since Gronk appears on the cover of Madden 17. Here is just a sample of how fans have reacted to the news about Gronk:

We thought the curse was dead. In recent seasons, Odell Beckham Jr. and Richard Sherman have appeared on the Madden cover without any consequences. But don’t tell that to Twitter! Er, okay, so maybe not everyone is buying into this:

Do you guys still believe in the existence of this curse?

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