The latest plan in Houston was for Texans running back Arian Foster to make his 2013 practice debut on Monday after missing all of camp as a result of calf and back injuries.
Foster’s not going to make it on the field, however. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that coach Gary Kubiak said Sunday that doctors have informed him that Foster needs a few more days off before he’s going to be ready to join his teammates at practice. Kubiak also said that Foster has had injections in an attempt to lessen the pain in his back, which has also gone into his legs.
All of which means that there’s probably just a slim chance that we’re going to see Foster play in either of the Texans’ two remaining preseason games. The Texans had hoped to get Foster a few carries against the Saints next weekend, but that is likely off the board now that he won’t be practicing until the end of the week at the earliest. The fourth preseason game rarely features starting players doing anything much and the Texans may well decide that the need to have Foster healthy for the regular season is more important than seeing him on the field in August.
While there hasn’t been so much as a whisper that Foster will be sidelined into the regular season, there has to be some concern about the continued movement of the goal posts for his recovery. The Texans offense leans heavily on Foster and the longer nagging injuries keep him off the field, the more one has to wonder if his ability to handle a sizable workload will be affected.