Pittsburgh Steelers star plays through injury that says everything about him

11 October 2023 , 18:27

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T.J. Watt played through a broken finger in the win

TJ Watt had a huge game as he refused to come out while playing through a badly dislocated finger to beat the Baltimore Ravens.

It was a game that the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to win, against their divisional rivals who came in to the game sitting atop of the AFC North.

And early in the game, Watt suffered a dislocated finger and even tore ligaments in the game - but refused to come out before registering his second sack of the game to seal the win.

Watt will likely need surgery to repair the finger, but he is expected to wait until the end of the season if he is able to play through it without significant pain.

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The star pass-rusher is not expected to miss any time because of this, with the Steelers now on a bye this week, returning to face the Rams in Los Angeles the following weekend.

However, should the finger be an issue for him then he could miss as much as a month through surgery - similarly to Russell Wilson who suffered the same injury in 2021.

The Steelers came into that game off the back of an embarrassing loss to the Houston Texans - losing by three touchdowns after being favoured to win the game.

Watt is leading the league in sacks with eight in just five games so far this season, and is on pace to break the record (22.5) - set by him and legendary New York Giants and now ABC's Good Morning America host Michael Strahan.

T.J. Watt had two sacks in the win over Baltimore

The Steelers have had a difficult start to the season offensively, with quarterback Kenny Pickett failing to build on an impressive end to his rookie season. Because of this, the team has leaned on Watt and the defensive unit to aid them to a winning record through the first five games.

The team does look to have a favourable schedule in the coming weeks though, facing teams with losing records such as the Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts in the coming two months.

However, they'll be in tough competition within their own division, facing Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals twice, as well as the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns making strong starts to the season - who could be legitimate playoff contenders.

Charlie Wilson