The Sports Xchange

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit the turf at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on Sunday thinking that flailing safety Mark Barron’s first impact to his left leg had broken Roethlisberger’s fibula.

Roethlisberger crumbled, clutching with interlocked fingers just below his left knee, and left the field on a motorized cart with 5:35 left in the third quarter of a 12-6 victory.

“This,” Roethlisberger said leaning on crutches in the Steelers locker room Tuesday morning, “is pretty painful.”

He was diagnosed Monday following an MRI exam with a Grade II sprain of his left medial collateral ligament and a bone bruise. Roethlisberger said his patience will be tested but doctors advised he would need four weeks for his MCL to heal and be fully stable.

Beyond that, he’ll have to gauge his pain tolerance with a bone bruise that won’t likely be healed.

“It’s already frustrating. I want to be out there with my guys. We’ll have to be smart. We don’t have a timeline right now,” he said.

Roethlisberger said the hit from Barron wasn’t dirty, though some argued it was questionable.

When he returns – already he peeked ahead to the Nov. 1 date with the Browns – Roethlisberger told doctors he could accept wearing a brace for a few weeks.

In the meantime, Roethlisberger will assist 35-year-old Michael Vick any way he can to prepare for Thursday’s game with the Baltimore Ravens.

“We brought him in here for a reason,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s got a good group around him here. Everybody’s got to do their job. We’ll be just fine … He’s helped me and I’ll continue to do what I can to help him.”