The Chargers placed Ekeler on injured reserve Friday.
Ekeler will thus miss at least three games, meaning that he won't be back any sooner than the Chargers' Week 8 tilt against the Jaguars. That's of course a best-case scenario, and it's quite possible Ekeler remains on IR beyond that, given that original estimates pegged his anticipated recovery timetable in the 4-to-6-week range. In Ekeler's absence, Joshua Kelley and Justin Jackson will head the team's backfield, with one of Kalen Ballage, Troymaine Pope or Darius Bradwell a candidate to be promoted from the team's practice squad in advance of Monday's game against the Saints to offer additional support.