According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Ben Roethlisberger has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, and he’s now wearing a walking boot following an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury he suffered against the Browns last night.
A league source told Pro Football Talk that Ben is “not feeling good.”
While the diagnosis makes last night’s performance by Roethlisberger all the more impressive, it does raise the question of his status for next weeks game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Given that we often hear the term “high ankle sprain,” I think it’s prudent that we understand the seriousness of the injury. High ankle sprains often take far longer to heal than other types of ankle sprains. The walking boot Roethlisberger is wearing restricts his ankles motion, specifically where the tibia and fibula meet.
While most high ankle sprains take longer than the 10 days between now and the Steelers’ game against the 49ers to heal, you can bet that Roethlisberger will do everything he can to be ready to play next week.
Should the Steelers be without Roethlisberger, which appears to be a very real possibility, they’ll turn to their long-time backup Charlie Batch. Batch played his first 4 seasons with the Lions before moving to the Steelers beginning in 2003. He has historically been an efficient passer, throwing 60 career touchdowns to just 47 career interceptions.
