PITTSBURGH (AP) -Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward bruised a leg bone while absorbing a hard hit from San Francisco safety Mark Roman in the third quarter Sunday and left the game.
The Steelers did not announce Ward’s injury until the game ended, but Ward was not seen on the field during the fourth quarter. He was spotted leaving the Steelers’ locker room, in street clothes, with about two minutes remaining and did not talk with reporters.
After the game, doctors were seen showing X-rays of Ward’s leg to team officials, but no further information about the injury was disclosed. Normally, coach Mike Tomlin does not offer injury updates following his postgame news conference until his weekly Tuesday news conference.
Ward was hurt after being the intended receiver on two consecutive plays on a drive that ended with a Jeff Reed 36-yard field goal, putting them up 17-6 in a game they won 37-16.
On a third-and-10 play from the 49ers 18, Ward couldn’t make the catch of Ben Roethlisberger’s short pass that sailed wide. Ward was immediately leveled by Roman, but got up quickly and there was no apparent sign of an injury.
Ward ended the game with one catch for 2 yards and a 7-yard run. Ward, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver, has nine catches in three games this season and 657 in his career, the most in Steelers history.
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