Patriots star cornerback Christian Gonzalez limped off the practice field Monday after he suffered an apparent leg injury in the team's first padded-practice of training camp. The severity of his injury has yet to be determined.

Update: Gonzalez suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out of training camp for a while but shouldn't impact Week 1, Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz reported Tuesday. 

Gonzalez suffered the injury while he was covering receiver Stefon Diggs on a crossing route during 11 vs. 11 drills. Quarterback Drake Maye hit Diggs with his pass, and Gonzalez came up lame on the play. He started to hop around and grabbed the back of his left leg as Diggs ran downfield.

Gonzalez was visibly frustrated on the field, but was able to gingerly make it off on his own power. He hobbled to the sideline alongside team trainers, sat down for a bit, and then went to the trainer's tent and didn't return to action. 

With Gonzalez leaving the practice, the Patriots were without their top two corners for the session, as veteran Carlton Davis III was sidelined again on Monday. The Patriots signed Davis III to a three-year, $60 million deal in the offseason to be their No. 2 corner, but he's only practice in two of the five sessions of training camp so far.

With Gonzalez and Davis out Monday, Alex Austin and Marcus Jones took reps as New England's top two corners.

Christian Gonzalez injury

Losing Gonzalez for any length of time would be a huge blow to the New England secondary and defense as a whole. He had an incredible sophomore campaign for the Patriots last season when he earned Second-Team All Pro honors after racking up two interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and 59 tackles over his 16 games. Gonzalez usually matched up with the opposition's best receiver, and held opposing quarterbacks to a 71.7 passer rating for the year. 

Gonzalez was drafted 17th overall by the Patriots in 2023 and he got off to a hot start to his career, taking home Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for his first September. But he suffered a torn labrum and a dislocated shoulder in Week 4, both of which required surgery and ended his rookie season.

The Patriots will now hold their collective breath as they wait for an update on Gonzalez's status going forward. There is a lot of training camp left, but New England will play its first game of the preseason a week from Friday when the Washington Commanders come to Foxboro.