Arian Foster Injury: Houston Texans RB might need back surgery

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) rushes past St. Louis Rams defensive end William Hayes (95) during the second half at Reliant Stadium. The Rams won 38-13. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Texans have an extremely low chance of competing this season after last week’s blown loss against the rival Indianapolis Colts, which makes the injury situation concerning star running back Arian Foster all the more concerning for fantasy owners. Foster was already ruled out for this week’s game due to hamstring and back injuries, and it’s the latter injury that could even end Foster’s season, thus resigning him to the same fate as Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Doug Martin.

Foster has been subjected to some extreme workloads ever since breaking out in 2010, and it’s crazy seeing how much the Texans have relied upon Foster. He ran the ball 327 times, 278 times, and 351 times in his first three seasons, and he had 117 carries in the first six games of this season (not including the game in which he suffered a hamstring injury against the Kansas City Chiefs and left the game after four carries).

The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain reports that Foster might need surgery, which would mean that he would miss the remainder of the season. The only reason why this is a possibility at this point is because the Texans are 2-6. It would be hard to envision Foster missing the rest of the season if the Texans were like 6-2, since the Texans are more inclined to finally give Foster the rest he needs. They’ve been giving him far too much work, and I think his injuries reflect poorly on the Texans organization. They’ve had a fully competent No. 2 back in Ben Tate, and yet they never spelled Foster enough, which would have also optimized his carries.

McClain’s report didn’t include a source, but he’s well-connected and surgery indeed seems like a very real possibility for Foster at this point. Keep a close eye on all developments related to his injury, especially if you are a fantasy owner of Foster’s.

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