Report: Peyton Manning has painful foot injury that he tried to play through

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has attempted to play through a painful foot injury for weeks, according to one report.

Manning has a torn the plantar fascia in his right foot, ESPN reported on Monday morning. Manning had battled plantar fasciitis for weeks, but tore his plantar fascia against the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 8.

Manning, who was pulled in the third quarter of Sunday's 29-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, had difficulty walking last week, according to ESPN.

While a torn the plantar fascia doesn’t usually mean surgery, but the recovery time could keep Manning out the rest of the regular season in question if he can’t play through it. Such injuries to the foot are rare, although Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol, while a member of the Los Angeles Lakers two years ago, was back in the lineup in less than a month after tearing his plantar fascia.

"I was protecting him. I was worried about him," coach Gary Kubiak said Sunday about pulling Manning. "This is on me. I probably should have made the decision not to play him in the game."