When Andre Johnson crumpled to the ground in the midst of the win over the Steelers a few days ago, I immediately assumed the worst. The way 'Dre went down, with no one touching him...I was terrified we were looking at a 'Dre-less season. I was ecstatic when word broke that his injury was believed to be relatively minor (compared to the oh-no-he's-done-for-the-year initial reaction I had), and I was further buoyed by the report that 'Dre might only miss three (3) weeks.
Now? Now I don't know what to think.
Yesterday, 'Dre underwent some sort of mysterious "procedure" (in Dallas, no less) to supposedly "speed [up] the healing process of a slight tear in his right hamstring." Although the unknown procedure was allegedly a roaring success, it raises more questions than it does answers. What exactly was done? If the injury is so minor, why was this procedure necessary? What effect will the procedure have on Andre Johnson's recovery?
The Texans sure aren't talking. From Gary Kubiak's presser earlier this afternoon:
"It’s my understanding it has something to do with the tendon," Kubiak said. "That’s all I know. All the information that we’re getting moving forward is very positive. He did have the procedure done yesterday. We’re not putting any timeline on anything right now. Everything went well. The doctors feel good about it. Andre feels good about it.
"We know we’re going to miss him for a period of time. We’re going to have to have some guys step up and play well."
...
"The biggest thing for me and for the team, me talking to the team, is just how positive everybody feels about moving forward," Kubiak said. "Listening to the doctors, listening to Kap, listening to Andre – I had a great talk with Andre yesterday – we know we’re going to get our captain back, and that’s a great thing. So we’ve just got to go to work on getting that done."
So where does this leave us? Clueless, that's where. We have no idea how long your Houston Texans will be without the best wide receiver in the game. While indications are that he'll be back at some point this season, there's no telling when that'll be.
As frustrating as it is, I'll take the uncertainty over the horrifying finality I initially felt last Sunday.
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