Arian Foster Injury Update: Houston Texans RB needs surgery, most likely out for season

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) rushes against the St. Louis Rams during the first half at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Texans star running back Arian Foster was already ruled out for today’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, and he will likely end up being ruled out for the entire season. Foster has a bulging disk in his back, and he needs back surgery. That isn’t debatable, as Foster met with three specialists in order to determine if surgery is necessary. He obviously never wanted to undergo surgery since that will most likely mean he will need to miss the remainder of the season, but there is no way that Foster will avoid surgery. This has been reported by both ESPN’s Adam Schefter and the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

While Schefter leaves Foster’s status for the remainder of the season up in the air, Rapoport cites sources stating that he will be out for the season. Schefter implies that Foster could play through the severe back injury and hold off on surgery until the end of the season, but that honestly doesn’t seem likely. Foster wants to do whatever he can to play and help his team win, but the Texans are 2-6. At this point, the long-term health of their workhorse (really, overworked) back is of the utmost importance, and it is more prudent to have Foster go under the knife. In a later tweet, Schefter added that Foster wants to play but also wants to make the most “prudent” decision.

We’ll see what that decision is, but I’m 99% sure that Arian Foster won’t be taking the field on Sundays until the 2014 season. The Texans and Foster have to keep his health in their best interests, because his health has already been sacrificed enough by the sheer number of times he’s been carrying the rock. Ben Tate is talented, but he’s also banged up. I do want to see how Tate does as the Texans No. 1 back, because things could get interesting if Tate proves that he can be a workhorse back too.

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