ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos leading tackler Danny Trevathan is out six to eight weeks after fracturing his left knee during a particularly intense padded practice Tuesday. The Broncos said their weakside linebacker has whats called a medial tibial impaction fracture but, fortunately, no torn ligaments. "Well, we were hoping it was a bruise. That would have been the best news," coach John Fox said after the teams evening walk-through. "But obviously, thats better than ligament damage. Those are out-for-the-season types of things. So, at some point we will get him back." Trevathan, who didnt put any weight on his left leg after being carted off the field during team drills, is expected to return to the Broncos right around their bye week in late September, meaning hed only miss three regular season games, at most. He was hurt on an 11-on-11 run play in which centre Will Montgomery rolled over him. Trevathan, a sixth-round draft choice out of Kentucky in 2012, is coming off a breakout season in which he led the Broncos with 124 tackles and intercepted three passes before leading the team with two dozen tackles in the playoffs. "You just hate it," Peyton Manning said while Trevathan was being examined by the teams medical staff. "You hate it in a game when you see that. And you hate it out here in practice. So, our prayers are with Danny. Were praying for positive results and hopefully hes OK. Hes an important part of our football team." The Broncos were hoping for a repeat of what happened last October, when Trevathan was carted off with a scary knee injury only to return to practice that week after his MRI came back negative. "Its pretty scary. He got carted off last year, so Im like, OK, hell be good," said Trevathans backup, Brandon Marshall. "But you never know how these things go. The defence was kind of like, Man, thats our guy, thats one of the playmakers on our team. So, we all got a little worried, but were just hoping hell be OK." Before Trevathan was diagnosed with a fracture, Fox said, "Obviously, we hope for the best. And if not, itll be next man up." Thats Marshall, an undrafted third-year pro from Nevada who spent most of last season on Denvers practice squad before being promoted to the active roster and playing in the regular season finale and all three playoff games. "I guess it was like a redshirt year, so to speak. I know they dont have those in the NFL, but I feel like it was for me," Marshall said. "And I feel good. On special teams I feel good, on defence I feel good." Marshall has already been playing alongside Trevathan in the nickel defence, a role that rookie Lamin Barrow, a fifth-round draft choice from LSU, will assume. Asked if he felt good about the linebacker depth, which also includes rookie Corey Nelson, Fox said, "Well, time will tell. I think in this league, its all about opportunity, so well see what they do." What makes this injury difficult is that Trevathan is an every-down player. "Hes obviously a vital part of our defence, but not too many people heard of Danny a couple of years ago, and you never know what might happen. Marshall said hes certain the coaching staff would allow him to make the defensive calls just as Trevathan for any time that hes filling in. "I know I can do it," Marshall said. "We only have smart linebackers on this team." About an hour before he got hurt, Trevathan was involved in one of three skirmishes in a four-play sequence during a four-minute drill. Finally, Fox called his players together and told them to quit losing their cool. The Broncos added several defensive players through free agency this off-season to give them more of an edge, but the offence wasnt backing down any. "If were going to get hit, we might as well deliver the blow," said rookie running back Brennan Clay, who was at the centre of a scuffle that spilled into the defensive sideline. Manning said hes no fan of fisticuffs at training camp because fights in games only hurt your team. "The thing about this game is its controlled violence. At times, thats hard to control your violence," wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. "Its good to see a team thats physical. Physicality is everything. Thats what the Seattle Seahawks had last year when they won the Super Bowl. "But its bad because at the end of the day were a team. So, you dont want guys hitting each other and trying to knock guys out or hurt guys out here." Hayden Hurst Womens Jersey . RAPTORS STRUGGLING: The bottom line is the true test in sports isnt just how you handle failure, but how you handle success. Jonathan Ogden Jersey . - The Clippers have signed guard Dahntay Jones to a second 10-day contract. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Youth-Joe-Flacco-Ravens-Jersey/ .com) - A pair of programs shooting for their 10th win of the season get together at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as the NC State Wolfpack tangle with 22nd-ranked West Virginia during the challenge round of the Gotham Classic. Ray Lewis Jersey .com) - Ben Lovejoy tallied a goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks cruised into the All-Star break with a 6-3 victory against the Calgary Flames. Jonathan Ogden Womens Jersey . -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, At the end of Boston-Toronto game on Thursday night,m Torey Krug received a holding call in overtime. The call was made when he defending against Tyler Bozak. It appeared as though Bozak put his arm out to fight Krug off and in the process gave up having two hands on his stick (and a good scoring chance). It looked to me that Krug put his arm in front of Bozak and then proceeded to immediately body check him. Krug put his arm out only after Bozak had and it looked like a fight for positioning to me. Would you consider the call correct? Or is this more of a subjective call? This could have big playoff implications in the coming week considering Toronto scored on the power play! Thanks,Brendan --- Hello Sir, In the OT period of the Bruins-Leafs game, a penalty was called on Torey Krug for holding, it led to a win for the Leafs on the power play. Watching the replay, it looked as if Krug made a good defensive play, with really no question, am I mistaken? Also, the Bruins had a goal called back against the Red Wings the previous night for goalie interference (though no penalty was assessed), again, on the replay, while Charas skate was in the crease, there appeared to be zero contact. I am looking for clarification on these plays, please. I understand it is often a bang bang play and a split second decision, but that is what these guys are trained to do, do you see either, or both plays as being right from a refs perspective? Thanks Kerry,J.W. Bajuhn Brendan and J.W.: If Bruins coach Claude Julien had a full head of hair he would have good reason to pull it all out once Torey Krug was assessed a holding penalty in OT following a good defensive play to knock the puck off the stick of Tyler Bozak! Tyler Bozak did attempt to protect thhe puck on his cut toward the Bruins net by reaching out with his right hand to fend Torey Krug off.dddddddddddd Once the arm of Bozak was extended, Krug placed his left glove hand onto Bozaks arm but did not utilize a tug or grabbing motion that could result in a takedown hold. Bozak continued to lean hard with his body pressed into the Bruins defender with a power move toward the net which. The alteration of Tyler Bozaks body position exposed the puck and provided an angle for Torey Krug to execute a perfect stick check. It was nothing more than a timely "stick on puck" in an excellent defensive play by Krug and not deserving of a penalty call. Once the puck was knocked off the stick of Tyler Bozak the fall and crash into the net by both players was of no significance or consequence to this play. There were some unusual judgments late in this game that went both ways. Phil Kessel clipped Dougie Hamilton on the cheek with his stick that opened up a pretty good gash and went undetected. Not too long afterward a pretty soft holding call was assessed to Nikolai Kulemin on Milan Lucic with just over a minute remaining in regulation time. The holding penalty against Krug ended the game with two big points for the Leafs and the loss of a big point for the Bruins in their race for the Presidents Trophy. Two goals were recently disallowed in Tampa (vs. Montreal) and Detroit (vs. Boston) when the refs deemed goalkeeper interference had been committed even though replays demonstrated there was no contact prior to the puck entering the net. Until the League allows the referee to utilize video review to determine the accurate presence of illegal goalie interference and/or a "coachs challenge" can be made we will continue to see inaccurate rulings in the crease. In the here and now, I would recommend that attacking players make sure they dont have a "toe in the crease" as they move toward the playoffs. ' ' '