What is this world coming to when high-profile athletes start posting official medical documents over the twitterverse? That’s exactly what Houston Texans RB Arian Foster did on Wednesday to let his fans know what was going on with his injured hamstring. Not only has twitter revolutionized pretty much every sporting event, now it’s affecting fantasy football.
So you drafted Foster in your fantasy draft and now it feels like that time you forgot to DVR the new episode of Breaking Bad. Just like waiting for the re-run to air, there are ways to alleviate the loss of Foster for a few weeks.
According to ESPN’s sports medicine expert (one of their thousands of experts in pretty much every field or it seems), Dr. Michael Kaplan, suggested that Foster had bleeding and swelling around the hamstring resulting in “considerable muscle damage.” Kaplan suggests that Foster will miss anywhere from three to four weeks and could risk re-injury if not waiting for that particular period of time.
Meanwhile, Foster has downplayed everything and tweeted that he is just fine (@ArianFoster if you don’t follow yet).
“If I had a ‘significant injury’ why post it? I’ll be fine, it was jus meant to make fun of the whole situation. Humor is lost nowadays,” tweeted Foster.
I’m not sure who is correct, but for those of you who spent an early first round draft pick on Foster, don’t fret, there are ways to fix this.
If you haven’t already done so, go after back-up RB’s Derrick Ward and Ben Tate who are available in a lot of leagues. The Texans’ websites lists Ward as their second back on the depth chart, but Tate appears to be the real back-up for the long run.
Ward has been alright this preseason while scoring a short touchdown in Houston’s last preseason match-up against the San Francisco 49ers. The score occurred shortly after Foster left the game with his hamstring injury. I would be cautious with Ward however because he also had a concussion earlier in the preseason.
Ward’s injury concerns and his lack of experience with the team is why I think Tate has the most upside while Foster sits on the bench. In the same game against the 49ers, Tate took 11 carries and rushed for a respectable 52 yards. The kicker with Tate is that he’s also very valuable catching the ball and is the younger back.
This could all be for none as Foster may be back for the season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts, but I would advise to side with caution and make sure your fantasy team is ready for a possible Foster benching, either now or some time in the near future.
What did you think of Foster tweeting his MRI image? Are you going after Derrick Ward or Ben Tate? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.