The Seahawks have been without middle linebacker Bobby Wagner for five games, the result of a turf toe injury suffered in Seattle’s loss to Dallas, but it appears he will be back in action this weekend for a big NFC West game against first-place Arizona.
While Pete Carroll wouldn’t definitively say Wagner will play against the Cardinals, he did return to practice Wednesday, though on a limited basis, and sounded confident that he will be back on the field.
“I feel like I’m ready for the most part, all things considered,” Wagner said. “I’ve been running, I’ve been doing my best to stay in the best shape I can without actually being out there on the football field. I’m going to take this week one day at a time and play in the game.”
Asked what it was like to watch his team play without him for five games, Wagner acknowledged that “It sucked. I hate watching football when I can’t play, but I can play now, and I’m going to make some noise.”
And if Wagner is indeed on the field, he doesn’t plan on returning on a part-time basis, even if Carroll said they might rotate linebackers to ease his transition back.
“If I’m suited up and you see a 54 jersey, I’m playing,” Wagner said. “You’re not going to see me on the sidelines.”
While the long layoff was tough for Wagner, his return, whether it happens this week or next, will be faster than expected.
“It was shorter than what I thought,” he said. “I was told it was going to be about eight weeks. What I did was tore the ligament that connects my big toe to my ball of my foot, and I broke my Sesamoid bone.”
And a quick side note: we really need a better term for that injury than “turf toe,” because that really doesn’t do a torn ligament justice.
Wagner didn’t have surgery, but rather doctors put a cast on his foot that bent his big toe down and an angle that would allow the injury to heal.
Considering how serious Wagner’s injury was, it’s worth remembering that he finished the game after suffering the injury in the first half.
Wagner got a shot to numb the injury and asked team doctors “if I go out there, can I do anymore damage.” Since the ligament was completely torn, their response was no, “because there’s nothing left to do damage to.”
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