CHARLOTTE – It's the offseason, but Curtis Samuel is working five days a week at Bank of America Stadium.

Samuel arrives at 9 each morning for at least three hours of rehab on his surgically repaired left ankle, and each day he's greeted by the smiling face of assistant athletic trainer Kevin King, who is overseeing his recovery.

The routine varies somewhat, but it always consists of a warm-up, exercise with weights or cardio, balance activities and some work catching a football.

On this particular Tuesday, Samuel did some work in the pool.

While teammates and peers across the league are currently jet-setting to whichever destination they please, Samuel is tethered to the training room. A quick visit to Ohio State, his alma mater, had to be organized around his rehab schedule.

"The rest of these guys," King said, "whatever they want to do, they just go."

Not the case for the 2017 second-round pick. Not after the season-ending injury he suffered on Monday Night Football against the Dolphins in Week 10.

The Panthers don't have a timetable for Samuel, but he's working toward a return for training camp.

"This is a big injury. He had ligament (damage) and a broken bone," King said. "There are multiple parts to his ankle injury. He's working his way through the process."

Things were just beginning to click for Samuel.

He had a five catches for 45 yards on seven targets in the first half against Miami – all career highs.

Then came first-and-10 from the Dolphins' 28-yard line early in the third quarter. Samuel, lined up in the slot right, ran straight to the end zone. Quarterback Cam Newton targeted him with a throw that hit him right between the numbers. But Samuel bobbled it. Safety Reshad Jones dove in an attempt to corral the ball, and in doing so, rolled up on Samuel in the end zone.

The rookie tried to get up and walk it off. But he quickly went back down before trainers helped him to the locker room.

"I was actually getting into a groove," Samuel recalled after completing his rehab session Tuesday. "I felt like I had a good game going, and for that happen in that game when I was feeling so good and getting so comfortable… it hurt.

"Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad at first. I figured it was high ankle sprain. But then I found out I was going to be done for the season."

Samuel, who played 40 of 41 possible games in his three years at Ohio State, couldn't seem to shake the injury bug throughout his first NFL season. It was a hamstring injury in the summer, then a high ankle sprain early in the season. He missed Week 4 at New England with a back injury.

The Monday night game against Miami looked like a turning point. And it was, just not in the right direction.

"I was out there and then I had something, then I was out there and I had something else," said Samuel, who finished with 15 catches for 115 yards on the year. "The main thing for me was I just felt like I wasn't able to get in rhythm. There was always a setback."