The St Louis Rams have confirmed that they have placed defensive end Chris Long on their injured reserve designated to return list.
The 29-year-old sustained an ankle injury in his side's opening-day defeat to the Minnesota Vikings, which will require surgery to amend the problem.
Jeff Fisher's side have placed Long on IR return to save a space on their 53-man roster, although the defensive end will now not be eligible to come back into the squad until week 10 of the campaign.
The Rams are already without starting quarterback Sam Bradford for the season due to a torn ACL injury sustained in pre-season.