GREEN BAY, Wis. – In a case of adding injury to insult, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love suffered a high ankle sprain in the closing moments of the team’s 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday night.

That’s the diagnosis of Dr. David Chao, former Chargers team doctor and the man behind Sports Injury Central.

In an article on SICChao said video analysis of the injury indicated a “possible mild left ankle sprain.”

The ankle injury is the “bigger deal” than a potential knee injury that occurred at the same time. He said there are “no concerns” about a torn ACL.

“The injury appears less serious because it involves his front leg, which is less critical for pushing off than his back leg,” Chao wrote. “This detail could play an important role in determining his availability for future competition.”

Coach Matt LaFleur had nothing to offer after the game. When asked twice about Love, he said only, “I don’t know.”

The Packers trailed 34-29 when they started from their 16-yard line with 22 seconds left. On the first play, Love fired hard to the left and hit Jayden Reed for a gain of 33. Suddenly, the Packers had life.

However, on first down, Love stepped into the pocket and was grabbed by defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Love wriggled free but was immediately stopped by defensive end Josh Sweat.

Lying on the ground, Carter grabbed Love by her left shin. Love lateraled the ball to running back Josh Jacobs while Carter had Love by her leg and Sweat carried Love to the grass. The injury occurred when Love’s ankle was pinned under Carter.

Love was clearly in pain when the training staff rushed to his aid.

When the game ended, Love left the field with the help of a trainer and running back Josh Jacobs.

“Obviously you don’t want any of your teammates to get injured (and), obviously you don’t want the leader of your team to get injured,” Jacobs said. “We don’t know how bad his injury is, but hopefully he’s OK.”

Chao thought there was a chance Love would play in next week’s season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, albeit with limited mobility.

Love started all 17 games last season, plus both play-off games.

“We know what kind of guy he is, how he approaches everything,” receiver Christian Watson said. “Whatever it is, I know he’s going to get through it. We’re going to get through it. Let God take care of the rest. I’m not sure yet.”

After a stellar second half of the season, Love looked more like a run-of-the-mill quarterback than a future MVP who could be the highest-paid player in the history of the sport.

After playing just three snaps in the preseason — on Aug. 10 at Cleveland — Love finished 17 of 34 passes for 260 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It was a make-or-break kind of night for Love. Of his 17 completions, five went for 177 yards and the other 12 went for 83.

The Packers had 414 yards but were abysmal, making 3 of 11 third downs and 1 of 4 in the red zone.

The red zone woes were especially devastating. The defense opened the game with an interception by Xavier McKinney and a fumble recovery by Devonte Wyatt, setting up the offense at the Eagles’ 19 and 13. The Packers managed just two field goals on those possessions.

The third red zone failure came midway through the fourth quarter, when the Packers settled for a 26-yard field goal to cut the margin to 31-29 with 7:52 left.

“We were pretty good in that area and we got destroyed in that area tonight,” said a frustrated LaFleur, emphasizing the word “destroyed.”

And yet, despite everything, Love would have had the chance to walk off the field a hero instead of crippled in pain if the defense had been able to stop him.

Instead, the Eagles threw in 7:25 and Love was injured.

“That was tough to watch,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “That’s the franchise right there. Hopefully he can come back next week and be right back on track.”

The Packers have played two games outside the country. In both — 2022 against the Giants and Friday against the Eagles — the Packers lost and their starting quarterback was injured.

In 2022, with Aaron Rodgers nursing a broken thumb, the Packers have lost five straight games. Given how poorly the Packers played on Friday and still had a chance to win, there’s a good chance this game will be a blip on the radar.

As long as Love can play.

“We shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” Watson said. “Pre-snap penalties, execution in the red zone. We know what we’re capable of. We’re going to take a hard look at ourselves in the film room. We’ve got to move on and try to win next week. We knew we could win that game. We just had to do better.”

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