Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb will likely be out for the season after being carted off the field during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday night with a serious knee injury.
“Nick has a very significant knee injury,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said in a statement. post-match briefing Monday evening. “He’s a great football player as we know, but he’s an even better person, so we’ll support him every step of the way.”
Chubb was hit by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the second quarter of Monday’s game and his left knee buckled inward, NFL.com reported. Chubb was seen grabbing his leg in pain and medics ran onto the field. He was quickly evacuated from the field and excluded from the match.
Stefanski didn’t know exactly how many ligaments the 27-year-old Georgian athlete tore.
Asked if he anticipated Chubb being out for the season, Stefanski said, “Yes.”
Chubb suffered a similar knee injury during his college career at Georgia in 2015; in this case, he had torn his MCL, LCL and PCL, according to ESPN.
“It’s a big blow for the whole team and we don’t want his injury to be in vain,” said the team’s Myles Garrett after the game. press conference. “We have to keep going, that’s what he would want us to do. And if he had the choice, that’s what he would do. I just have to keep fighting and use it as motivation.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said Chubb’s injury caused “a lot of flashbacks to the previous one he had in college.”
“Honestly, it was tough,” he told reporters after the match. “I know he doesn’t have a ‘C’ on his jersey, but he’s a captain, he’s a leader, he’s the definition of this team, of this city, of this organization. We have holes to fill for him.”
Best wishes have been pouring in on social media for Chubb.
Basketball icon LeBron James tweeted “F*ck DUDE!!!! Nick Chubb. Praying for the absolute best.”
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson tweeted: “Prayers for Nick Chubb.”
“I love you Nick…Pray,” Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield wrote on social media, while his former teammate Odell Beckham Jr. wrote, “Pray for my brother Chubb.”