Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell will not need surgery; May return by Week 3?

While the Pittsburgh Steelers were hopeful that running back Le’Veon Bell would not need surgery on his Lisfranc injury, they weren’t going to be completely sure until a second opinion was given.

That second opinion has been given and it’s good news – Bell will avoid surgery, according to James Wexell:

"Tomlin: Bell has mid-foot sprain. We are encouraged. It won’t be surgically repaired. Out for this week. That is encouraging news."

Even better news is that Bell could potentially (and I stress potentially) return as early as Week 3.

Undergoing an operation would have ended Bell’s season however with a 6-8 week timetable for nothing more than rest, Bell could potentially be ready to return by Week 3 if he’s feeling up to it.

Granted, it could be longer if Bell’s foot simply isn’t responding but assuming everything goes correctly and Bell recovers well, an early season return isn’t out of the question.

For the Steelers, it’s the best news they could have hoped for while savvy fantasy football players may try to snag Bell in the later rounds of their draft, hoping to pick up a small risk, high reward player.