New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had surgery on his right foot

Brady played much of this MVP season with the stress fracture, but it did not appear to affect his performance in the Patriots' loss during the playoffs to the New York Jets.  Tom Brady underwent successful surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital to repair the lingering stress fracture in his right foot.

Navicular stress fractures are a relatively uncommon stress fracture, but are certainly more prevalent among athletes.  As an aside, navicular stress fractures were originally described in racing greyhounds by Bateman in 1958, who found them to occur in the dog's hiind leg secondary to the increased stresses; the first human description was in 1970.

This is a commonly missed or delayed diagnosis, as this fracture may not be seen on standard radiographs.  Bone scans, CTs, and MRIs are sometimes used to help make this diagnosis.  While metatarsal stress fractures of the foot often heel in 3 to 4 weeks, due to reduced circulation of the navicular bone, healing times are closer to 6 weeks for this condition with immobilization.  On occasion, surgery is required.