Big Ben out
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 5:14 pm
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underwent an emergency appendectomy Sunday. The procedure went well, but Roethlisberger's status for the first few weeks of the NFL season is now in question.
Steelers coach Bill Cowher already ruled him out for Thursday's season opener against the Dolphins and named Charlie Batch as the starter. Cowher said Roethlisberger will be evaluated each week, and he is not certain how long the quarterback will be out.
Roethlisberger first experienced pains in his stomach Sunday morning and was sick. According to his agent, Ryan Tollner, Roethlisberger underwent a routine repair of the appendix. Though Roethlisberger was sick before the operation, his appendix did not burst.
Surgery was completed by early Sunday evening. Tollner said Roethlisberger will stay in a Pittsburgh hospital through Sunday night and is expected to be released on Monday. He talked to his agent before the operation and was reportedly in good spirits.
This is the second emergency surgery for Roethislberger in less than three months. He had to undergo facial surgery in June when he was involved in a motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet. The Steelers quarterback made an amazing comeback from that accident and participated in all of the training camp practices and played the entire preseason.
The timing of this most recent surgery couldn't have been worse for the Steelers and Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh opens the season against the Dolphins on Thursday. In some instances, a player can come back from an appendectomy in a couple of weeks, but there is not enough time for the third-year quarterback to be ready for the opener and it puts him in question for the next several games.
It also puts the Steelers in the market for a quarterback. They have only two quarterbacks on the roster after releasing Omar Jacobs and Shane Boyd.
Steelers coach Bill Cowher already ruled him out for Thursday's season opener against the Dolphins and named Charlie Batch as the starter. Cowher said Roethlisberger will be evaluated each week, and he is not certain how long the quarterback will be out.
Roethlisberger first experienced pains in his stomach Sunday morning and was sick. According to his agent, Ryan Tollner, Roethlisberger underwent a routine repair of the appendix. Though Roethlisberger was sick before the operation, his appendix did not burst.
Surgery was completed by early Sunday evening. Tollner said Roethlisberger will stay in a Pittsburgh hospital through Sunday night and is expected to be released on Monday. He talked to his agent before the operation and was reportedly in good spirits.
This is the second emergency surgery for Roethislberger in less than three months. He had to undergo facial surgery in June when he was involved in a motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet. The Steelers quarterback made an amazing comeback from that accident and participated in all of the training camp practices and played the entire preseason.
The timing of this most recent surgery couldn't have been worse for the Steelers and Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh opens the season against the Dolphins on Thursday. In some instances, a player can come back from an appendectomy in a couple of weeks, but there is not enough time for the third-year quarterback to be ready for the opener and it puts him in question for the next several games.
It also puts the Steelers in the market for a quarterback. They have only two quarterbacks on the roster after releasing Omar Jacobs and Shane Boyd.