While it’s not a season ending injury, the news tonight on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is not good.
Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Big Ben has a torn meniscus in left knee, and will have surgery to repair the damage on Monday morning.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a torn meniscus in left knee and will have surgery Monday morning. No timetable for his return.
— Ron Cook (@RonCookPG) October 17, 2016
The time frame for recovery for the surgery varies, but the Cleveland Clinic website states the following about the recovery for such a surgery:
Following surgery, there is a recovery time of up to two weeks to allow time for frequent physical therapy and appropriate treating of the knee to ensure a quick return to normal activity. As part of physical therapy, patients will be taught exercises, in addition to having guided therapy. Patients will continue to receive physical therapy three times per week after they are discharged from the hospital. The length of the rehabilitation period depends on the patient’s condition and recovery progress. If a meniscal repair is done, the recovery time and rehabilitation period may be extended – up to six weeks in a knee brace or with crutches.
Last season Roethlisberger missed four games after suffering a sprained MCL and a bone bruise in a win early in the season in St.Louis, and then was injured again later in the season against the Oakland Raiders, but didn’t even miss a game as he came in after Landry Jones was injured and set a record for most yards thrown in a game for a QB that didn’t start the game with 375 yards.
Back in 2005 Roethlisberger missed four games due to various knee injuries after he took a shot during a Monday night game in San Diego against the Chargers. That season he missed one game, and then three more later in the season.
The outlook if he’s going to miss four to six weeks looks like this for the Steelers
October 23rd vs New England
October 30th BYE WEEK
November 6th at Baltimore
November 13th vs Dallas
November 20th at Cleveland
November 24th at Indianapolis (Thanksgiving)
So the thought if it’s four weeks is for him to be back for the Cleveland game on the road on November 20th, or if it’s longer he may make it back for Thanksgiving night.
No matter when, the bottom line is the team has to get Landry Jones ready to be the starter, and likely will look to have Zach Mettenberger ready to go as his backup starting Sunday against the dangerous Patriots.
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Jay
October 17, 2016 at 3:43 am
Oh well they weren’t going anywhere anyway this year so. This injury is a direct result of two things: Ben choosing to not throw the ball away which obviously falls on him but also the HC because there is no discipline. How many times now have we seen Ben hold onto ball and get injured trying to do too much? There’s extending and making a play and then it there’s stubborn stupidity. The other reason falls on the coaching staff. We continue to neglect his blind side and put shit out there at left tackle to protect him. Villanueva is garbage and shouldnt be protecting a backup ‘s blind side let alone a franchise QB.
Dave B.
October 17, 2016 at 5:16 am
If this turns into a four to six week recovery the Steelers season in all likelihood is over . Opponents , with no Ben on the field , will key on LeVeon Bell on every offensive play . Next week , its the Patriots . Brady vs Landry Jones ? Not good .
DrGeorge
October 17, 2016 at 8:13 am
In New England, when Brady is suspended, Belichick has a developed Garapollo who steps in and plays well, and when he goes down, Brissett comes in and plays well for his years. In Pittsburgh, when Ben R. goes down, Tomlin has the unreliable L. Jones in waiting and the newly signed Mettenberger, who is still learning how to win. “When the tide goes out, you can see who’s been swimming naked.” In truth, we’ve been talking about this issue on this blog site for years.
DrGeorge
October 17, 2016 at 8:46 am
Jay, I fail to see how Villaneuva’s blocking had anything to do with Ben’s injury. As I recall, Ben R. was out of the pocket and was trying to pull his foot out of the clutches of a Miami player when the injury occurred. He wasn’t tackled. More likely, a partial meniscus tear had happened on an earlier play and was completed by Ben’s attempt to extricate his foot.
The meniscus, by the way, is the C-shape spongy tissue that separates the femur and tibia. It is not the same as a ligament. There are lateral and medial menisci just as there are lateral and medial ligaments in the knee. The outer one-third of the meniscus has a blood supply and is capable of healing on its own. The inner two-thirds of the meniscus has no blood supply and surgery is required to trim away a tear in this area. A meniscus tear is less debilitating than a ligament tear, and the recovery period is usually much shorter, as reported in the article. In Ben’s case, his age and previous wear and tear on his knee are complicating factors. The curious may go to OrthoInfo.aaos.org for more complete information on meniscus tears.
Jay
October 17, 2016 at 6:05 pm
It’s just an overall defeatist, he was getting pressured all day from both ends and the tackles did nothing to prevent it. It seemed like the pressure came in from his blteam bad side so it was either foster or Villanueva who got beat! Moot point. As long as tomlin is in charge, this team will be mediocre.