The Pittsburgh Steelers can ill-afford to be without their No.1 player, but it appears they are running that risk as Ben Roethlisberger's right shoulder injury left him "questionable" for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced to news reporters Tuesday that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is questionable for Sunday night's game, USA TODAY reported Tuesday afternoon.
Roethlisberger, who won two Super Bowl MVP trophies with the Steelers in the 2005 and 2008 NFL seasons, suffered the injury Monday night when he was tackled by Kansas City Chiefs linebackers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston in the third quarter of the Steelers' 16-13 overtime win at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Penn.
The quarterback left the game and was taken to a hospital for MRIs, which revealed a sprained sternoclavicular joint on the front of the shoulder, where the sternum and clavicle meet. The injury there has damaged the ligaments in Roethlisberger's shoulder holding the bones together.
"You could tape it, you could do that stuff but the reality is those ligaments just have to heal," Dr. Victor Khabie, chief of sports medicine at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y., told the Huffington Post. "If you go throwing, you slow down the healing process."
While there is no timetable yet as to when or whether Roethlisberger will return, "Big Ben" is unable to play Sunday, look for the Steelers to give the start to veteran backup Byron Leftwich, who completed 7 of 14 passes for 73 yards in relief after Roethlisberger left the game. Doing so is a bit of a risk as Leftwich hasn't started a game since 2009.
However, Leftwich told the Post that he would be ready.
"I try to prepare as if I am the starter every week," Leftwich told the Associated Press. "Nothing will change. I wish Ben the best. I hope he is healthy. Other than that I will be ready to go."
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