Broncos guard Chris Kuper was taken to the locker room on a cart after suffering another injury to his left ankle in Sunday's game at Cincinnati. (US Presswire)

CINCINNATI -- Chris Kuper's hellish 2012 continues.

A year that began with a severe leg injury on Jan. 1 took another turn for the worse Sunday when he injured the same ankle late in the third quarter of the Broncos' 31-23 win over the Bengals.

"The early look is there's no broken bones," Broncos coach John Fox said. "I don't know what that actually means yet. So we'll continue to evaluate it, and when I have some educational comments, I'll let you know."

What it means is that Kuper could still have ligament damage. If it's only a sprain, he could be back to action in a matter of weeks, depending on the degree and location of the sprain.  However, he tore his ankle ligaments last January, and that might complicate matters.

Kuper attempted to hobble to the sideline, but quickly realized he couldn't make it and waved team trainers to the field. He was helped to the bench and then taken from the field on a cart.

The seven-year veteran spent the offseason rehabilitating from the leg injury and returned for training camp, but then fractured his left forearm in a drill during practice Aug. 14. That kept him sidelined for the first four weeks of the regular season. He played on a limited, special-teams basis in Week 5 and then returned to the lineup in Week 6 against San Diego.

"That guy's worked so hard," said Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley. "Besides Peyton (Manning), he's our leader on offense, and he's the heart and soul of our offensive line."

In the 11 quarters he played right guard this year, the Broncos didn't allow a sack. They gave up eight with Manny Ramirez working at right guard. Ramirez took over for Kuper after his injury Sunday.

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