It was another injury-riddled Sunday in the NFL. At least two fantasy superstars suffered multiple-week injuries. I’ll cover all of the fantasy-relevant injuries you need to know heading into Week 10. As with every week, this article will be updated throughout the week as more is known regarding these injuries.
Quarterbacks
Ben Roethlisberger left Sunday’s game early with a left foot injury. As Aldon Smith was sacking him, the tip of Roethlisberger’s left cleat stuck in the ground, and most of Smith’s body weight came down on his heel. That was the cause of his injury. It’s the classic mechanism of a Lisfranc injury.
Lisfranc injuries vary greatly by severity. The injury could affect only one of the midfoot joints, or it could multiple joints. A mild injury would only involve ligaments being torn, and a severe injury would involve a dislocation of the midfoot with multiple fractures.
Roethlisberger’s injury is reportedly more on the mild side of the spectrum. The Steelers medical staff has already ruled out the presence of a dislocation or fracture via x-ray. Both Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN report Roethlisberger will miss next week’s game against Cleveland, rest through the bye week, and then return in Week 12, per their team sources. That’s the best-case scenario. That implies he suffered only mild ligament damage in the midfoot.
However, the mechanism doesn’t completely appear consistent with a mild injury. Looks can be deceiving, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a week or two is added to Roethlisberger’s timetable. He has a history of playing through many painful injuries, but playing with this injury requires more than just a high pain tolerance. The midfoot ligaments need to heal sufficiently for adequate stability of the foot to be achieved. The time needed for that to be achieved couldn’t be shortened.
Roethlisberger will be in a walking boot for the remainder of the week, and will certainly make trips to see orthopedic foot specialists. We won’t see or hear from him over the bye, and then we should have a clearer picture of his timetable for return at the start of Week 12. At this time, expect him to be out until Week 12, but don’t be surprised if he takes a week or two longer than that to return.
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Dave Pratt, DPT, is a licensed physical therapist and a former collegiate football player. He has years of experience analyzing game footage and injuries. Throughout the NFL season, he will breakdown and discuss all fantasy-significant injuries in this weekly column. The first edition of the column will be made available on Monday afternoons, and updates will be made throughout the week. An accelerated update on all of the pressing injury news will be made available on Sunday mornings. Follow him on Twitter @PFF_DavePratt
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