Fax: (239) 692-9436
Tel: 239-430-3668San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling — the team’s top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft — will miss at least a month with a deltoid ligament sprain in his left ankle, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday, Sept. 13. Stribling suffered the non-contact injury while running a route in the second quarter of the 49ers’ season-opening 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, and had to be carted off the field. Surgery remains an option, though it is not currently planned, and the team is still gathering medical opinions.
The initial fear was much worse. Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed after the game that Stribling’s Achilles tendon was intact, but further testing revealed the specific injury: a sprain of the deltoid ligament, the strong band of tissue on the inner side of the ankle. It is a less famous injury than an Achilles tear, but for athletes and active adults it can be just as limiting — and it is frequently under-treated.
What is the deltoid ligament, and why does this sprain matter?
Most people have heard of an ankle sprain on the outside of the ankle — the classic rolled ankle that stretches or tears the ligaments on the lateral side. The deltoid ligament is the mirror image on the inside of the ankle. It is actually the stronger of the two, a broad, fan-shaped structure connecting the shinbone (tibia) to several bones of the foot. Because it is so sturdy, it does not get injured as often — but when it does, the injury usually means the ankle was subjected to serious force.
Deltoid ligament sprains typically happen when the foot rolls outward while the leg rotates inward, or from landing awkwardly on the side of the foot — exactly the kind of cutting and landing movements football, pickleball, tennis and basketball demand. In medical terms this is called a medial ankle sprain, and it is often grouped with “high ankle sprains” because the two frequently occur together and share a slow recovery timeline.
Symptoms of a deltoid ligament (medial) ankle sprain
The telltale signs are different from an ordinary sprain:
- Pain and tenderness on the inner side of the ankle, along the bony ridge where the deltoid ligament attaches
- Swelling and bruising that may track down into the arch of the foot
- Pain with pushing off, pivoting, or walking on uneven ground — the movements that load the inner ankle
- A feeling of instability or the ankle “giving way,” even when the pain is manageable
- Slow recovery: medial sprains routinely take 4-8 weeks or longer, which is why a professional athlete like Stribling is out “at least a month” even without surgery
How it is diagnosed
Diagnosis starts with a hands-on exam: the doctor tests the specific ligaments of the ankle with gentle stress maneuvers and checks whether the joint is unstable. Weight-bearing X-rays are taken to rule out a fracture and to see whether the ankle joint has shifted out of alignment — a critical step with deltoid injuries, because a torn medial ligament can allow the ankle mortise to widen silently. An MRI confirms the extent of the ligament tear and identifies any associated injuries to the syndesmosis (the tissue holding the two shinbones together) or the cartilage of the ankle joint. That matters because a deltoid sprain rarely travels alone; a stress injury, fracture, or tendon damage missed on day one is what turns a four-week injury into a season-long one.
Treatment: from conservative care to surgery
The good news, for Stribling and for everyday patients: most deltoid ligament sprains heal without surgery. Treatment moves along a spectrum based on severity.
- Protection and early control: a walking boot or brace, ice, elevation and reduced weight-bearing in the first days to calm inflammation and protect healing ligament fibers.
- Physical therapy: as swelling settles, progressive exercises restore range of motion, rebuild the calf and peroneal muscles, and retrain balance — the single biggest defense against chronic instability.
- Custom orthotics: a prescription orthotic built from a mold of your foot can control the inward collapse and rotation that repeatedly overload the inner ankle, especially in patients with flat feet or a history of sprains.
- Regenerative and advanced options: for sprains that stall out, treatments such as shockwave therapy and injection-based care can stimulate healing in slow-to-recover tissue.
- Surgery: reserved for cases where the ligament is fully torn and the ankle joint is unstable or shifted, or where conservative treatment fails. Repairing the deltoid ligament restores the ankle’s structural support, and it is most successful when done before months of walking on an unstable joint wear down the cartilage.
The key warning sign that separates routine sprains from ones like Stribling’s: if you still cannot bear weight or walk normally several days after the injury, or the inner ankle stays swollen and painful past two weeks, get it imaged. Waiting out a deltoid sprain the way you would wait out a mild twist is how a treatable ligament injury becomes chronic ankle instability.
Ankle injury care in Southwest Florida: Family Foot & Leg Center
An acute ankle injury needs a specialist who looks at the whole foot and ankle, not just the obvious spot of pain. The board-certified podiatrists of Family Foot & Leg Center (FFLC) are Southwest Florida’s lower-extremity experts, with 9 locations from Marco Island to Sarasota — including Naples, Estero, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Port Charlotte and Sarasota — and decades of combined experience in foot and ankle trauma, sports injuries and reconstructive surgery.
For ankle sprains and ligament injuries like the one Stribling suffered, FFLC offers in-office digital imaging to rule out fractures, advanced ligament and joint evaluation, walking boots and bracing, custom orthotics, shockwave therapy, and — when the injury requires it — surgical repair by board-certified foot and ankle surgeons. Whether you rolled your ankle on the pickleball court, twisted it on the golf course, or hurt it during a run, you do not have to wait weeks to see a specialist.
FFLC’s core advantage is quick access: same-day and urgent-care appointments for foot and ankle injuries, with 24/7 self-service scheduling online and AI-assisted phone answering around the clock at 239-430-3668 — so an injury like Stribling’s gets evaluated by a specialist now, not in a month.
Schedule an appointment at FFLC
If you have ankle pain, swelling on the inner side of the ankle, or an injury that is not healing on schedule, the board-certified podiatrists at Family Foot & Leg Center can evaluate it today. Schedule an appointment at FFLC or call 239-430-3668 — 24/7 scheduling, same-day appointments, 9 Southwest Florida locations.
Dr. Kevin Lam, DPM, FACFAS, DABLES, DABPS is Founder and Clinical Director of Family Foot and Leg Center, PA — Southwest Florida’s premier podiatric surgical group. He earned his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree with honors from Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine and completed advanced surgical training at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Jackson Memorial Health System, Miami. Named among America’s Top Podiatrists. Board-certified in foot surgery, reconstructive rearfoot and ankle surgery, and lower extremity surgery. International lecturer, adjunct professor, and fellowship training director. Serving Southwest Florida since 2005 across 9 locations from Marco Island to Sarasota.
