Three times NFL Defensive Player of the Year, defensive end J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans, has suffered an injury in the Sunday night’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and will miss the rest of the season. In the first quarter of the game against the Chiefs, Watt twisted his leg and went down in pain, later being diagnosed with tibial plateau fracture. He underwent a successful surgery on Monday.
J.J. Watt was heartbroken after the injury and sent a message on Twitter.
I can't sugarcoat it, I am devastated.
All I want to do is be out there on that field for my teammates and this city.
I'm sorry.— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 9, 2017
After being elected in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans with the 11th overall pick, J.J. Watt went on to become one of the league’s best defensive players. Still, in the recent years, he became injury prone. In 2015 he suffered a groin injury and fractured left hand, but managed to play all 16 games of the season. At the beginning of 2016, Watt underwent groin surgery for a sports a hernia and later a back surgery for a herniated disc. Despite recovering enough to play three games, he once again had to undergo back surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the 2016 season.
Watt wasn’t the only Texans’ player that got hurt on Sunday night. Whitney Mercilus left the game before Watt, and the test showed that he suffered torn pectoral, meaning he is ruled out for the season.
“To have their seasons cut short because of an injury, it’s tough,” – the Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said. “But, and that’s a big but, this football team understands that it is the ‘Next man up’ philosophy. The train doesn’t stop moving. The train keeps going. That’s the deal with the League. That’s what makes the NFL what it is.”
