Owens Could Put Himself at Future Risk

Philadelphia Eagle receiver Terrell Owens is risking his NFL career if he plays in Sunday’s Super Bowl game and re-injures his ankle, says a sports medicine expert at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles who is familiar with that type of injury.

The pivoting and cutting that is required from a receiver could pull Owens’ ankle joint apart and ultimately trigger early arthritis -- a career-shortening, if not ending, injury -- said Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache, director of sports medicine fellowship at Kerlan-Jobe.

Owens’ decision to play despite his own doctor’s advice carries the “potential for shortening his lifespan in the NFL if he causes further damage to his ankle,” said ElAttrache, a member of the NFL Physicians Society and a consultant to the Denver Broncos and the St. Louis Rams. ElAttrache says he believes that Owens is at least six weeks away from being able to play football without risking serious re-injury.

Owens underwent surgery Dec. 22 after severely spraining ankle ligaments and fracturing the fibula bone in his right leg. In addition, he ripped a sheet of tissue called the inter-osseous membrane that connects the fibula to the larger tibia bone that runs alongside it from the foot to the knee.

“This is far more extensive than the usual ankle sprain,” ElAttrache said. “A sprain is generally a very stable injury. If you can get the swelling down and it feels good, it’s safe to play.”

The cracked fibula, which by now has at least partially healed, is of little concern, the orthopedist said. “His leg’s not going to explode” in the dramatic fashion that former Washington Redskin quarterback Joe Theismann’s leg shattered after an awkward tackle on national television in 1985, ElAttrache added.

Rather, the fear is that Owens’ ligaments and tissues have not had adequate time to heal. “When we pivot and twist, it puts a tremendous amount of force on the connective tissue,” ElAttrache said. “[Owens] is depending on the [two] screws” that currently fasten his fibula to his tibia. “Those [screws] could loosen or break.”

If that happened, it could make him susceptible to an injury that throws the ankle joint into abnormal alignment, which can irreversibly damage the surrounding cartilage.

“This can lead to early arthritis,” ElAttrache said. “And if you have arthritis in the ankle, it makes it very difficult to be a receiver in the NFL.”

Even supportive straps, heavy taping and the screws in his leg may not be enough to prevent re-injury, the doctor said, adding that even if Owens does not suffer such an injury, it is unlikely he will be able to perform in this Super Bowl at “near the level he is used to.”

Dr. Rob Huizenga, former team doctor for the Raiders, said the league should institute a system “to protect players from themselves.” He advocates referring cases of potential re-injury to independent, “unbiased” outside physicians who will decide whether a player should participate in a game.

“The [team] doctor has a huge conflict of interest” where he must consider the team’s chances of winning as well as the player’s well-being, said Huizenga, an internist and associate professor of medicine at UCLA. “Somebody has to be in a position to say, ‘No.’ ”

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Tough Guys

Jack Youngblood, Steve Grogan and Rod Woodson know what Terrell Owens is going through. All three ignored the pain of injuries and potential further damage to play in the Super Bowl.

* JACK YOUNGBLOOD, L.A. Rams: Youngblood was chop-blocked by two Dallas Cowboys in the 1979 NFC divisional playoffs, causing his left fibula to snap above the ankle. The defensive end got the trainers to tape his leg at halftime and even got a sack in the second half of the Rams’ 21-19 victory. Youngblood used a leg brace the following week when the Rams won the NFC title at Tampa Bay. He played every down in Super Bowl XIV, but his Rams lost to Pittsburgh, 31-19, at the Rose Bowl.

* STEVE GROGAN, New England: The Patriot quarterback fractured his left tibia and sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left leg against the New York Jets on Nov. 24, 1985. He was activated in time for Super Bowl XX when he replaced an ineffective Tony Eason and completed 17 of 30 passes for 177 yards in a 46-10 loss to Chicago.

* ROD WOODSON, Pittsburgh: Woodson, an all-pro defensive back, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the first week of the 1995 season against the Detroit Lions. Rick Burkholder, now the trainer for the Philadelphia Eagles who helped Owens rehabilitate his ankle, was with the Steelers then and helped Woodson return only 4 1/2 months after surgery to play in Super Bowl XXX against Dallas. The normal recovery time for that injury is nine to 12 months.