Patriots owner Robert Kraft recently underwent back surgery, which will keep him sidelined on “injured reserve” and force him to miss Rob Gronkowski’s induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday.
“As much pain as I was in before having surgery, it pains me even more to miss the ceremony,” Kraft, 85, told Mike Reiss of ESPN on Thursday.
Doctors ordered Kraft to stay off his feet, so he will also miss the Patriots’ game against the Packers on Sunday and the trip to Munich for a Week 10 game against the Lions.
Fans voted Gronkowski into the Patriots Hall of Fame in April in his first year of eligibility.
Gronkowski, having undergone multiple back surgeries during his playing career, understood Kraft’s absence, the owner said.
“I always told Gronk that in my next life, I wanted to come back as him, because I had never seen him have a bad day. But after a couple of back surgeries, I take that back. I never want to experience that again,” Kraft said.