Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger could miss four to six weeks after having surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.
Mortenson reported that the timeline was based on what orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Bradley saw when performing the arthroscopic procedure on the 34-year-old quarterback’s knee.
Roethlisberger was injured in Sunday’s 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins. He was nicked from behind and limped off the field in the second quarter before later returning to play in the third quarter.
On Tuesday, the quarterback told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Doc says my knee looked good, but there still was some stuff in there from when I had my bone bruise last season in St. Louis. … He said that might keep me out a little longer than just a simple meniscus tear. Maybe an extra week or so. But there’s no way to put an exact timetable on it. It all depends on my pain and how I feel.”
Roethlisberger had already been ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots — backup quarterback Landry Jones will get the start — but it was believed he could possibly make it back in time for the Nov. 6 game against the Baltimore Ravens (Pittsburgh has its bye week between the two games).
Now, the Steelers will have to heavily rely on running backs Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams and on Jones, who told the Steelers before practice, “Don’t panic.”
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