Pittsburgh Steelers franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has already made one remarkably quick recovery from an injury earlier this season. Today’s news indicates that he may be on his way to doing it again.
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During Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders, Roethlisberger was sacked by Aldon Smith and his foot hit the turf at an awkward angle:
Ben Roethlisberger suffered a foot injury that will cause him to miss time: https://t.co/wpYopF8lMy https://t.co/G9YgTI7apx
— AOLSports (@AOLSports) November 9, 2015
Roethlisberger was taken off the field and then to a local hospital. He was diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain and expected to miss at least one week of action. While it’s still a long shot, the chances of Big Ben suiting up on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns are looking much better today.
According to a report by Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Roethlisberger was practicing today and has his sights set on playing this week:
Roethlisberger said he will practice in some capacity,today
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) November 12, 2015
Roethlisberger when asked about playing Sunday: "I hope so."
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) November 12, 2015
Earlier in the week the expectation for Roethlisberger was that he would be wearing a walking boot and unable to practice in any capacity for Week 10’s matchup. However, Roethlisberger is progressing ahead of schedule and did not need one on the field today.
Pittsburgh currently stands at 5-4 and second place in the AFC North. If the season ended today they would secure one of the AFC’s wild card spots, so it’s vital to build on last week’s win over Oakland.
Still, even if Roethlisberger can play it may be wiser to let him rest an extra week because the bye is coming up after Cleveland, and after that a trip to Seattle.
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When Big Ben went down against the Rams it was projected that he would miss up to six weeks, but in the end he only sat out four. In his absence the Steelers went 2-2. Winning at home against the 2-7 Browns even with Landry Jones starting should not be a problem for Pittsburgh.
As tough as he is, the most important thing is his long-term health.
We will keep you up to date on Roethlisberger’s status as the game approaches.