Matthew Slater returns to New England with hamstring issue

The Patriots are preparing to play this weekend without special teams captain Matthew Slater, who has returned to New England because of a hamstring issue, per a source.



Slater was injured in the second quarter of Sunday’s win over the Broncos. It’s not known if it’s a re-aggravation of the same issue that kept him off the field for a sizable portion of the summer, as well as the first four games of the regular season.

According to Ian Rapoport on NFL Network, the injury is described as “serious,” and the team is “looking at a multi-game absence.

In other injury news, the Patriots were without wide receiver Chris Hogan and right tackle Marcus Cannon at the start of their workout Wednesday in Colorado Springs.