D.J. Hayden was the best story of the 2013 NFL Draft, surviving a bizarre, near-fatal, practice-field heart injury to become the No. 12 overall pick by the Oakland Raiders.
The optimism surrounding Hayden's comeback was deflated a bit Tuesday when NFL Network's Omar Ruiz reported the rookie cornerback underwent a procedure to remove scar tissue in his abdominal region either Thursday or Friday. Hayden previously had complained of "bad" stomach pain.
The procedure was more precautionary, and the Raiders do not believe this will be a big concern, barring complications, a source informed of Hayden's condition told NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.
The injury is serious enough to keep Hayden out for the remainder of organized team activities, though Raiders coach Dennis Allen has "no worries" that the cornerback will be back for training camp in July.
Although Allen acknowledged that a correlation between the abdominal injury and last year's heart surgery to repair a torn inferior vena cava cannot be ruled out, the Raiders "don't anticipate it being an issue," the coach said. Rapoport's understanding is that the cornerback's hospitalization isn't related to the circulatory system.
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NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock noted last month that Hayden had been medically cleared, with most teams believing his heart scare was a "once-in-a-gazillion situation." Hayden's history might mean extra precaution on any internal injuries, but it appears he has escaped a scare and will be fine once he has recovered from the abdominal procedure.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
