Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt underwent back surgery and will likely begin training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. The surgery is not expected to cause Watt to miss any regular season games.
It remains unclear what injury prompted the surgery. Watt played through a long list of issues last season, including a herniated disk as Tania Ganguli of ESPN noted. The injury did not require surgery at the end of the season, but it’s possible Watt aggravated Ron Greschner Jersey it this offseason or suffered another injury that did need surgery. This is the second surgery Watt has undergone this offseason; earlier he underwent sports hernia surgery to repair a significant groin injury.
The news of the surgery comes just 10 days before the Texans are set to open up training camp on July 31. Houston doesn’t open the preseason until Aug. 14. The Texans begin the regular season on Sept. 11, giving Watt a little more than seven weeks to recover if he’s going to avoid missing the first regular season game of his career.
The injury happened recently, and the team will Ryan McDonagh Jersey put him on the PUP list to start training camp.
Now, it could be more like 10 weeks, which would put him on the shelf for the first three games of the season. The Texans have a Thursday night game against the Patriots in Week 3, so no feasting on Jimmy Garoppolo while Tom Brady is out for his suspension.
The real question isn’t when Watt will return, but when he’ll return to full strength. Back injuries aren’t uncommon for NFL players. However, they’re the kind of nagging injury that has lingering effects, making it harder for a player to snap back into form quickly. Watt’s fellow pass rusher from the 2011 draft, Robert Quinn, had back surgery last June and ended up missing half the season before being put on IR.
Maybe some more massages will help.
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