Ward has knee surgery, out for Sunday's game versus Tampa Bay
Monday, November 27, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The bad news continued along with the losses for the Steelers when Hines Ward revealed that he had surgery on his injured knee today.
Ward canceled his weekly appearance on KDKA-TV last evening and told the station he had arthroscopic surgery earlier in the day to remove a bone fragment from his knee.
The Super Bowl MVP said he will miss Sunday's game against Tampa Bay in Heinz Field but hopes to return to play the following Thursday night against Cleveland at home. It will be only the second game that Ward will miss in his career; he also missed a game last season because of a hamstring injury.
Ward left Sunday's game in Baltimore with what coach Bill Cowher described as an aggravation of the knee that was injured the previous week in Cleveland. It was diagnosed as a hyperextended knee. Ward was listed as questionable all last week, but practiced on Friday and started against the Ravens. He caught four passes for 33 yards in Baltimore before he left in the third quarter.
"I ran a route and felt something again," Ward explained. "I stayed in and tried to keep playing but my safety's an issue too. I want to be out there but I don't want a career-ending injury."
Ward leads the Steelers with 57 receptions for 786 yards and six touchdown caches. His 20 receptions on third downs are tied for second in the AFC.
A Steelers spokesman said he had no information on Ward regarding any surgery other than what the player said on KDKA-TV.
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