Everyone thought it was Big Ben’s shoulder that was the problem, but it seems it was something much more serious. According to Roethlisberger, doctors told him his broken rib could cut into his aorta.
In the immortal words of Carl Lewis while singing the National Anthem….
Uh Oh!
You can’t come back from that type of injury until you are 100% healed and no one knows exactly when that will be. Here are Ben’s quotes courtesy of Pro Football Talk.
“I can move [the arm] around, that’s not the issue,” Roethlisberger said. “Sometimes when I do move it the rib will kind of pop out-of-place again, which is pretty painful. I just try to keep it as still as I can for the most part.”
Hopefully, it isn’t a season ending type of injury, but no one knows for sure at this point.
*UPDATE*
Per ESPN’s Bob Holtzman, doctors have advised Big Ben to not return until his rib is completely healed, and “that could take up to 6 weeks.”
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) November 14, 2012