It seems Houston Texans running back Arian Foster's injury and subsequent surgery may not sideline him as long as many in and around the team initially thought. There is now "optimism" that Foster's timetable for return may be drastically less than the two to three months that was first reported. Instead, Foster may only miss four to six weeks of playing time, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle.
It was reported earlier this week that Foster had injured his groin at some point during the outset of Texans training camp. Per the Chronicle's report, Foster actually had sports hernia surgery. This would jibe with a report that Foster had traveled to Philadelphia to meet with and have his procedure done by Dr. William Myers, considered by many to be the authority on hernia surgery.
It has been suggested that Foster is a candidate to be placed on short-term injury reserve by the Texans, which would mean he could not return to practice until Week 6 of the regular season and more importantly, couldn't actually suit up until Week 8.
If Foster is indeed able to return quicker than expected, it would be a huge boost to a Texans team that is currently looking at a running back depth chart headed up by Alfred Blue and Chris Polk.
Blue, a sixth-round pick by the Texans last year, had 169 carries, 528 yards and two touchdowns rushing his rookie season. His 2014 efforts were promising, but it's likely Texans head coach Bill O'Brien isn't completely comfortable handing him the keys to the Houston run game. Polk, a former undrafted free agent of the Philadelphia Eagles, is immensely talented and has a nose for the goal line - he has seven rushing touchdowns to his name despite garnering just 57 carries over a two-year NFL career - but has struggled with injury issues and was unable to steal snaps from former Philly No. 1, LeSean McCoy. He was a player the Texans were said to be considering trading for prior to the Eagles rescinding his tag, but his past injury concerns also make him a question mark as the lead back.
Still, despite Foster's injury and Blue and Polk's lack of established production, the Texans chose not to sign another back after Foster went down. Perhaps it's a sign they expect him back sooner than most.
