Le'Veon Bell: RB Cannot Rush Back From Injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers received some less than encouraging news on Wednesday in regards to running back Le’Veon Bell. After suffering a foot sprain in the team’s preseason game on Monday, the rookie underwent testing that revealed a Lisfranc injury. Those are definitely two words that any NFL player cringes at, but in the case of Bell it looks as if he may have dodged a bullet. It’s being reported that he will possibly miss six weeks of action, which is getting off easy when it comes to Lisfranc injuries.

If indeed the damage is as minor as currently thought, the main thing will then become a smart recovery for Bell. Steelers’ veteran safety Ryan Clark has already chimed in with the best possible advice for the rookie:

“I told him, ‘I understand that you want to prove to us that you’re tough, that you want to prove to us that you’re durable, that you’re willing to go out and do whatever it takes to help us, but also understand that we’re not going to win the Super Bowl this week. We weren’t going to win it last week.’ He’s proven to me that he wants to be out there, that he wants to try to fight through injury. Now he needs to get himself healthy.”

It’s one thing for a player to be tough and play through an injury, but it’s another to rush back and ultimately hurt the team. When it comes to a foot injury like Bell’s, rushing a return would be the worst thing possible. You know that he’s going to want to prove himself to his teammates, but he has to put pride aside until he’s fully healthy. It’s hard for young players to see the big picture, but Bell has to remember there’s a prime roster spot waiting for him when he comes back.

If Bell only ends up playing eight or nine games this year, it will definitely be disappointing to Steelers’ fans. However, it’s a much better than the alternative.

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