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Lions tight end Eric Ebron is frustrated by an ankle injury that has forced him to miss nearly a month.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions needed pass-catchers to step up in the wake of Calvin Johnson's retirement, and most figured Eric Ebron would be one of those guys.

Especially Eric Ebron.

He was, too, throughout much of the offseason.

Ebron was catching almost everything thrown his way. He became a favorite target of Matthew Stafford, especially in the red zone. And he was leading the team in receiving during their Aug. 6 mock game, too, when disaster struck.

He injured his ankle during the game, and it has forced him to miss nearly a month.

That's frustrating for him, given how important he is to the team. And Detroit's offensive issues during the preseason have only exacerbated the situation. The starters have yet to score a touchdown on their nine series.

There's one thing Ebron keeps thinking about while watching his teammates play -- and struggle -- without him.

"I need to get my ass out there on that field," Ebron said while making his first public comments about the injury. "I'm not a huge person (for just) watching. I like action. I like to be in action. So it just sucks being on the sideline, man. It's not my lifestyle. I wasn't born for this, I wasn't bred to do this -- but I got to right now."

Ebron was rolling when he suffered the injury. On a day when nothing else was working for the offense, he'd just caught three straight passes from Stafford, including a 30-yarder down the seam, to almost single-handedly move Detroit into position for its first touchdown.

It was a glimpse into the possibilities that laid ahead.

But then Ebron felt something go in his leg while run blocking, and crumpled to the turf. He didn't get up. He had to be carted off the field, head hanging.

He had one thought in his head.

"My life sucks," he said. "Honestly, I think I told Kevin that too. I didn't know what to expect when I went down. I didn't know how to handle it."

The scene was ugly, and things worsened when NFL Network reported Ebron had sustained an Achilles injury. His availability for the start of the season looked imperiled. And if the injury was bad, he might already be done for the year.

The news traveled fast. His mother heard, and texted him about it before he even had a chance to tell her. Family and friends started hitting him up on his phone.

"Not exactly when I got to the locker room, but it blew up (later) like the World Trade," he said, referring to a Notorious B.I.G. lyric. "I just tried to keep everybody that's close to me in the loop with what's going on, and everybody else, just ignore."

Those initial fears, though, proved to be overblown. And in NFL Network's case, erroneous.

Ebron had sustained an ankle injury, not an Achilles injury. It has kept him out most of the past month, and a brief comeback last week was cut short after one day. But he's still expected to play this season, and hasn't ruled out the opener either.

It appears he's dodged a bullet.

"I was afraid," he said. "I was afraid for the worst, and hoped for the best.

"I'm just taking it as slowly as I possibly can, to make sure I'm back to what we were seeing that day. Because if I don't get back to there, then it's not going to be a good season for myself."

His frustrations have grown over time, given how thin Detroit is at his position. Brandon Pettigrew still has not been able to return to practice while rehabbing a torn ACL, and Tim Wright is out for the year already because of a torn ACL of his own.

Cole Wick, an undrafted rookie, is starting in his place. And struggling, as is the offense.

"I just feel like what I'm doing right now is kind of hurting us, because it's not as good as it can be, or I'm not relieving as much stress off of Matt as I could, as far as my abilities in the slot position and playing tight end," he said. "It's just kind of rough. I mean, (expletive), that hurt the hell out of me, just not being there (to help) and watching all these preseason games. It sucks."

Ebron is not expected to play in the preseason finale against Buffalo on Thursday night, but his return is not far away -- and when he does, it should provide a much-needed lift for everybody.

"I'm just going to go out there and do what I do best: Try to make plays, and try to be a playmaker for the team," he said. "That's pretty much it. That's all I can do, that's what I have been doing -- until obviously the situation that happened that day.

"So just going to pick back up where I left off."