ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Marist Liufau is scheduled to have surgery as early as Monday on a fractured left forearm he suffered in Friday's preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints.
Liufau was injured in the first quarter of Dallas' 27-24 loss while making a tackle. After the game he was spotted in a sling and soft cast.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said Liufau would miss "weeks," but owner and general manager Jerry Jones sounded a little more optimistic if the surgery goes well.
Jones spoke with doctors after the injury occurred and said Liufau could be back "quickly," because the fracture "is one that's in the right spot, and if you're going to have one, it's the one to have."
It does create some issues as far as the Cowboys' impending decisions on their 53-man roster, which needs to be set Sunday. Dallas could use one of the two available injured reserve/designated to return slots on Liufau at the final cutdown and have him miss the first four games of the regular season.
Liufau, a third-round pick in 2024, made a position switch from off-ball linebacker to edge player in the offseason, impressing the coaches, while also being a big part of the Cowboys' special teams unit.
"Losing Marist as a football player is tough," Schottenheimer said. "Unfortunately, it's part of the business. You guys all know him and the way he'll attack his rehab, and so we'll get surgery done as soon as we can and next man up. But yeah, he was a critical, critical part of not just two or three special teams, really all four. He's a 'four-core' guy that you just rely on and he plays the game with violence and we have some other guys in that locker room that do that as well."
