Timmons gets injection in Philadelphia; Tomlin thinks No. 1 pick on road to return at last
excerpt:
After getting a second opinion from a groin and abdominal specialist in Philadelphia, outside linebacker Lawrence Timmons received more than just confirmation his injury is not more serious than originally diagnosed.
He also received an injection to reduce the inflammation in his groin, a procedure designed to hasten his return to the practice field and end a period of inactivity at training camp that has entered its third week.
That was the first hint of good news for Timmons, the Steelers' No. 1 draft pick, since he aggravated a groin injury that caused him to miss nearly the entire offseason workout program, including minicamp.
Nonetheless, after returning from a visit to Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia, Timmons spent yesterday doing what he has done since July 26 -- standing around at practice, watching his teammates prepare for their second preseason game tomorrow night against the Green Bay Packers at Heinz Field.
"We feel like there's a breakthrough in this process with him, and now it's just about starting the process of crawling him back to full participation," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We're looking forward to getting that started."
But, when that will be, nobody seems to know for certain.
Tomlin said he will not know when Timmons will return to practice until the rookie has a chance to work with trainer John Norwig. Timmons, however, was told by Meyers that his injury is nothing more than an inflamed groin -- the injury diagnosed by the Steelers -- and that there is no evidence of a sports hernia or a tear of the adductor muscle, also known as a groin strain.
Two years ago, Meyers performed surgery on outside linebacker Clark Haggans for a sports hernia, an injury that was originally listed as a groin. Haggans missed three games. But Timmons does not have that type of injury; rather, he has an inflammatory condition known as osteitis pubis, which can be caused by a sports-related injury or overuse.
According to MayoClinic.com, the condition can be painful and is treated in sports-related injuries with rest or anti-inflammatory drugs. Meyers is a specialist who has treated Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, among others.
Timmons declined to be interviewed after practice.
"It's a confirmation of what we already knew," Tomlin said yesterday during a morning news conference at Saint Vincent College. "More than that, it provided certainty as to what we're dealing with. There are new and unique injuries out there, sports hernias and the like, and we had an opportunity to kind of rule those things out.
"We're comfortable with what we heard."
Now Tomlin hopes the process can begin to get Timmons back on the practice field and get him caught up with the rest of the rookies on the team, including outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, the team's No. 2 draft pick.
Tomlin said he has not decided if Woodley will start his second consecutive game at left outside linebacker against the Packers. Woodley has been manning that spot since Haggans moved to right outside linebacker to replace James Harrison, who had been out for a week with a rib injury. But Harrison has practiced the past two days -- albeit lightly -- and could play against the Packers.
"That will be dictated on how he deals with the work that's given on a day-to-day basis -- how sore he is, so forth and so on," Tomlin said of Timmons. "The speed of his recovery will dictate that. I'd be speculating if I gave you something in terms of that."
Doctor: No surgery for Steelers' Timmons
Doctor: No surgery for Steelers' Timmons
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