A trip to the hospital for coughing up blood didn’t end Christian Watson’s night on the football field.
The Green Bay Packers wide receiver returned to Lambeau Field during Thursday’s game against the Carolina Panthers after leaving the first half in an ambulance with a chest injury.
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Watson left the hospital around halftime and returned to the game with 4:01 left in the third quarter, with Green Bay holding a 27-13 lead. He continued to play until the conclusion of the Packers’ 27-19 victory.
After the game, Watson told Amazon’s Kaylee Hartung that he didn’t want to go to the hospital, but that the team’s medical staff sent him because of “some signs” that he needed to go. One of those signs was that Watson was coughing up blood.
“No internal bleeding, nothing to raise suspicion,” Watson said of being cleared to return. “At first I was coughing up a little blood, so they just wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything crazy. … I cleaned it all up and was able to go again.”
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Watson added that getting back on the football field was his top priority.
“I try to be on the football field, it’s all about me,” Watson said.
Watson broke a rib
Watson told reporters after the game that he couldn’t breathe on the field after falling on the ball following a catch. He confirmed he was “coughing up blood” and that a scan revealed a fractured rib.
Doctors cleared him to play with the fractured rib, so he rushed to Lambeau Field to finish the game with extra padding around his injury.
“I told them before we even left that I wanted to go back, so I was going to make sure I was able to go back if they let me,” Watson said.
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The Packers told reporters after halftime that Watson had completed medical tests at a local hospital and was returning to Lambeau Field. At that point, he was officially listed as a suspect and he ran out of the ambulance upon returning to the stadium.
He then ran onto the field, much to the delight of the Lambeau Field crowd.
Then, with the Packers holding a 27-13 lead and 4:01 left in the third quarter, Watson put on his helmet and returned to the game.
Watson’s injury scare
Watson was injured early in the second quarter. He was able to leave the field and get into the ambulance under his own power. The Packers announced that he suffered a chest injury and was being taken to the hospital as a precaution.
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The injury occurred in a collision after Watson caught a 53-yard pass in the second quarter.
He remained on the field for several moments, then walked towards the medical tent off to the side. After a quick visit to the tent, he left the field. He was seen getting into an ambulance moments later.
His night ended amid concerns about his health. But he was back on the field in the third quarter and finished the game. He caught two more passes after his return, including a late conversion on third down to help ice Green Bay’s victory.
Watson is in the midst of his best NFL season
Watson is in the midst of a breakout campaign in his fifth NFL season as one of the league’s most productive receivers. With eight catches for 113 yards Thursday night, Watson is up to 42 catches for 708 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. His yardage total is already a career high eight games into the season.
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It appears he will be able to add to that total without losing any more time to his injury.
Panthers cornerback Will Lee III collided with Watson during the play and was also injured. He left the field on a cart and did not return due to a hamstring injury.
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