The Pittsburgh Steelers may have taken a major blow in their Week 12 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Middle linebacker, Ryan Shazier, has been the focal point of the Pittsburgh defense all season. His career-high 67 tackles have been a significant factor in the success of this defense, but after walking off the field with an ankle injury in the second half of their game versus the Packers, Shazier’s injury update is still unknown.
The good news is that Shazier did return to the field. However, Pittsburgh tight end, Vance McDonald, returned to the field after suffering an ankle injury earlier in the season and has yet to see the field since.
Head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media following the game and said it was nothing more than bumps and bruises. If that’s true, Shazier should be good to go by their game in Cincinnati in Week 13.
Other injury news surronded left tackle, Alejandro Villanueva, who also left some of the game for an ankle injury. Like Shazier, Villanueva returned to action and didn’t seem to bothered by the injury after his return.
Besides that, the Steelers are just hoping to get Vance McDonald, Joe Haden and JuJu Smith-Schuster back on the field. Haden may have a few more weeks before he’s ready to get back into it, but for Smith-Schuster and McDonald, they’re hoping to see the field by next week at the latest.
It appears the later in the season this team gets, the less injuries they have. This could be a good thing moving forward with some tough competition lying ahead. With New England and three AFC North matchups still ahead, Pittsburgh is hoping to be in full strength moving forward.
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For all Steelers news and updates, and updates surrounding Shazier’s injury later in the week, stay connected with Still Curtain.