John Ross has had his fair share of injuries over the years.
But the Cincinnati Bengals wideout never experienced anything like the one he had recently when he broke the sternoclavicular joint in his chest.
During the recovery process, Ross’ doctor confirmed it could have been life-threatening because the way the broken bone bent back came close to hitting an artery.
“I stopped after that. I didn’t want to pass out,” Ross said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “No matter what artery it was, I knew it was scary … I didn’t want to know anything more after that. I said, as long as you fix me, we’re fine.”
The football perspective always hurt. Ross was in the middle of a breakout season when he went down against Pittsburgh. Some of the old mistakes occurred, but a new staff had let him work through it and he rewarded them by leading the NFL in receiving at one point.
But the bigger point was the severity of the injury. This wasn’t another simple shoulder injury or nagging issue elsewhere. Initially viewed as an unlucky circumstance, it turns out Ross was quite lucky.
Now cleared, Ross aims to get back on the field over the next four games or so and continue to develop. Nobody is likely more excited about it than Ross himself.
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