The Los Angeles Chargers have been without the services of star running back Melvin Gordon due to an MCL injury that has already kept him out of the lineup for last Sunday's 33-30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This will once again be the case against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14 action as he has been officially ruled out for the contest, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

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This shouldn't come as much of a surprise given that Gordon was already expected to miss a few weeks with the injury. He had suffered it late in the fourth quarter of the 45-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals after he was tackled low on a reverse attempt. The Chargers have moved quite cautiously with the situation with their primary focus on getting him completely healthy before he makes his return to the field this season.

Prior to the injury, Gordon had been putting together an impressive campaign as he had tallied 802 rushing yards with nine rushing touchdowns along with 44 receptions for 453 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 10 games played. This includes tallying three 100 rushing yard performances, including more than 50 rushing yards all but once. He had firmly established himself as the primary piece of the offense behind his dual ability to significantly impact both the passing and running game.

His absence will once again push the Chargers to utilize their depth at the running back position as Austin Ekeler, and Justin Jackson will factor into the equation in some capacity. Ekeler had struggled to get going against the Steelers as he had 22 rushing yards on 13 carries while Jackson had 63 rushing yards on eight attempts in the contest. There should be plenty of opportunities for both to get going against the Bengals' porous defense that ranks last in the league against the run.