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Browns notebook: Report says rookie Howard Wilson won’t need surgery on fractured kneecap, but team has no update on status

A day after Browns cornerback Howard Wilson suffered a fractured kneecap May 12 during the first practice of rookie minicamp, the team announced “the injury will require surgery and will force him to miss time during the 2017 season.”

Wilson, in a statement, said, “I’m a positive person so I will have the surgery, work hard in my rehab and look forward to getting back to out there and helping this team win some games.”

But if an NFL Network report from Thursday is true, Wilson won’t have surgery after all.

Ian Rapoport reported Wilson’s fractured kneecap wasn’t as severe as initially feared and after the fourth-round draft pick from the University of Houston received several medical opinions, a decision was made to avoid surgery.