Arian Foster is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday to repair a groin injury, and it is unclear how long the four-time Pro Bowler will be out. The way Houston Texans owner Bob McNair makes it seem, the team should be more than prepared to be without its best offensive player.
McNair made some comments on Thursday to John McClain of The Houston Chronicle that probably won’t sit well with Foster. In short, McNair called Foster fragile.
“I’ve recognized how vulnerable he is,” the owner said. “I can’t say that I’m that surprised. It seems like every year he’s had some type of soft tissue injury. We just keep our fingers crossed and hope it won’t happen, but he seems to be vulnerable to that type of thing.”
Foster has played in all 16 games of a regular season just twice in his six-year NFL career. He missed eight games in 2013 and three last year. He has also played through a number of injuries even when he’s on the field, so McNair isn’t saying anything we didn’t already know.
Still, it’s unusual for an owner to talk publicly about how injury prone one of his better players is.
“I do think he can come back, but it’s going to take him a little while,” McNair added. “In the past, he’s always been able to overcome it, and I think he will this time, too.”
One doctor estimates that Foster should return to full form in two or three months. If Foster’s recovery period takes three months, that would put his return date right around Week 8. The Texans have a bye in Week 9, so it’s possible they could hold Foster out until Week 10.
That would not be ideal for Houston, and McNair is likely frustrated because of it. When you look at some of the options behind Foster, you can understand why.
H/T Shutdown Corner
