PITTSBURGH — The initial fear from a knee injury at training camp left Pittsburgh Steelers offensive guard Ramon Foster wondering if he’d get another chance to play football.
Now, he’s back on the practice field and eyeing a Week 1 return.
“I thought it was over,” said Foster, who’s 32 and in the last year of his contract. “I thought it was the worst. But we got the MRI and it’s one of those things where you’re calm now, you’ve got a shot. To say I’d be ready for Week 1, I honestly didn’t think that, either. But the body’s weird.”
Foster was carted off the practice field July 28 after falling backward during a team drill. Doctors diagnosed Foster with a right-knee MCL strain and a bone bruise, estimating a four- to six-week recovery.
That meant no ligament damage, which is exactly what a nine-year veteran wanted to hear.
“Nobody wants to go their whole football career and end it on an injury and have an uphill climb to try to get back,” Foster said. “[The MRI] was excitement more than anything.”
Foster has been one of the Steelers’ most durable players, making 115 starts since joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2009. This was the first significant lower-body injury of his career, he said.
Foster is a respected voice in the locker room and often sets the tone early in practices by loudly addressing players during stretching. Foster was determined to rejoin the practice mix.
“There’s a mental click in your mind — you push harder,” Foster said.
Source : ESPN
