Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle opened up about his toe injury and where he stands in the recovery process after missing each of the team’s last two games.
While speaking with reporters, Dowdle stated that he’s taking the situation “day-by-day” and that he’ll have a better gauge of his timeline to return to the field once he practices.
“Feeling alright,” Dowdle said. “Getting better, taking it day-by-day. As far as getting back on the field, we’re gonna see how it go tomorrow but I’m supposed to be working in a little this week so we’ll see how I feel.”
Dowdle, who also noted that he’s dealing with turf foe at the moment, revealed that he dislocated his toe twice in Week 2 against the New England Patriots.
“It’s real annoying,” Dowdle said. “I dislocated it twice in the Patriots game. But yea, just a foot sprain. Very annoying honestly, I’m missing games because of a toe. I’ve played with broken hips and stuff like that, but it’s definitely there.”
How Dowdle’s Injury Situation Transpired vs. Patriots
Dowdle was carted to the locker room during the second quarter of Pittsburgh’s loss to the Patriots after appearing to suffer his injury while attempting to recover the ball after Aaron Rodgers was strip-sacked.
The 28-year-old later returned in the third quarter, though he stated that his toe popped back out a second time from there, prompting the Steelers to pull him from the contest for good.
“The first time I did it, I came to the sideline and I was like, “I think my toe broke,'” Dowdle said. “So I went to the tent and it was dislocated and they popped it back in, did the X-rays. Nothing was broken or whatever, but once they popped it back in, I felt good, so I’m like, ‘I wanna go back in the game and play.’ Dr. [James] Bradley was like, ‘No, we’re playing on turf, think I’m gonna be done,’ because when you get it, you hurt the plate at the bottom or whatever. So I ended up talking him into going back in, and he was like, ‘If it pop out again, you’ve gotta be done,’ and it popped out again, so I had to be done.”
What Else Needs to Happen for Dowdle to Return?
Besides working in at practice and seeing how he feels from there, Dowdle explained that the key is allowing the tissue to heal to ensure that his toe doesn’t keep popping out, as otherwise he’d need to undergo surgery and have a pin inserted.
“It’s about letting the tissue heal, like the scar underneath so it don’t keeping popping out because if it keeps popping out, I’ll have to get surgery and put a pin in there,” Dowdle said. “It’s just about trying to let the tissue come back together… It’s painful obviously, ’cause it’s like I got knots in the bottom of my feet.”
Jaylen Warren has been fantastic in the two contests Dowdle has missed, posting a combined 302 yards on 40 touches.
Pittsburgh certainly won’t rush him back onto the field and risk Dowdle’s injury situation worsening by shortening his recovery period, though his eventual return will offer a nice boost for an offense that could use one.
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