J.J. Watt injury: What is a tibial plateau fracture?
By Josh Hill
Houston Texans superstar J.J. Watt suffered a tibial plateau fracture on Sunday night, but what the heck is that?
It was a bad night for the Houston Texans. J.J. Watt left the game early with what many feared was an ACL injury. That thankfully wasn’t the case, but the injury to Houston’s star defensive cog still isn’t good news.
Watt suffered a tibial plateau fracture, which is an injury that Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant suffered and recovered from.
What is a tibial plateau fracture?
I’m not a doctor, but so I’ll let the experts describe what it officially is:
"A tibial plateau fracture is a bone fracture or break in the continuity of the bone occurring in the proximal part of the tibiaor shinbone called the tibial plateau; affecting the knee joint, stability and motion."
Huh?
Basically, this is the part of the knee where the knee itself attached to the tibia. It’s a little bit more complicated than a fractured tibia, which is what the bone that runs along the being the leg is called. This is specifically the area at the top of this region where the thigh bone rests.
Thankfully, this isn’t a ligament. That means Watt could theoretically recover from his injury quicker than if it had been his ACL or MCL. The location of the bone is also why it was assumed this must be an ACL injury, as the knee
What’s the recovery time from that?
It all depends on the severity of the fracture. In all likelihood, he’ll be out for at least the rest of October, as the Texans need to ensure he’s healthy for a postseason push. The defense has long been a staple for the Texans, and if they want to make waves in the playoffs then Watt needs to be as healthy as possible.
Rushing him back from this doesn’t make sense, especially given the recovery timeline.
It will take between six-to-eight weeks for Watt to be back to being healthy enough to play. That means it will be up to Deshaun Watson to lead the Texans through the heart of the season and keep this potential playoff season alive.