Torlan Pittman talks about thumb injury, return timetable
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:18 amSophomore defensive lineman Torlan Pittman left Saturday's victory over UTEP just before halftime after getting his right wrist bent backward and then hit while making a tackle. Shortly thereafter, he learned he had a broken bone in his wrist.
Head coach June Jones said Monday morning that Pittman likely won't practice this week, and "might" try to play Saturday at Marshall with his wrist heavily wrapped. If Pittman doesn't play against the Thundering Herd, Jones said, the hope is that he will be ready for the regular-season finale against Tulane.
"I was going in on a tackle, and I just kind of threw my hand in there to get him," Pittman said of the play on which he was injured. "I got my hand on him, and then (safety) Rock (Dennis) came in from the side, and my wrist got bent back. They took an X-ray at halftime, and that's when I learned it was broken."
Pittman removed his pads and watched the second half from the sideline.
Wrist injuries can be complicated because of some of the delicate nature of some of the smaller bones in the wrist, but Pittman said he was told surgery will not be necessary because the break is a crack, and not a clean break.
"They won't have to" operate, Pittman said, "because the bone isn't displaced. It's just cracked, so it's more about pain and swelling."
Pittman has a light cast on the wrist, and said he isn't sure how swollen it is, although his hand is slightly swollen where the fingers stick out from the cast.
"When I first did it, it was pretty numb," he said. "Saturday night, it hurt a lot. But it's getting better. I'm hoping to play (against Marshall), but if I can't play this week, I definitely want to be in there against Tulane."
Head coach June Jones said Monday morning that Pittman likely won't practice this week, and "might" try to play Saturday at Marshall with his wrist heavily wrapped. If Pittman doesn't play against the Thundering Herd, Jones said, the hope is that he will be ready for the regular-season finale against Tulane.
"I was going in on a tackle, and I just kind of threw my hand in there to get him," Pittman said of the play on which he was injured. "I got my hand on him, and then (safety) Rock (Dennis) came in from the side, and my wrist got bent back. They took an X-ray at halftime, and that's when I learned it was broken."
Pittman removed his pads and watched the second half from the sideline.
Wrist injuries can be complicated because of some of the delicate nature of some of the smaller bones in the wrist, but Pittman said he was told surgery will not be necessary because the break is a crack, and not a clean break.
"They won't have to" operate, Pittman said, "because the bone isn't displaced. It's just cracked, so it's more about pain and swelling."
Pittman has a light cast on the wrist, and said he isn't sure how swollen it is, although his hand is slightly swollen where the fingers stick out from the cast.
"When I first did it, it was pretty numb," he said. "Saturday night, it hurt a lot. But it's getting better. I'm hoping to play (against Marshall), but if I can't play this week, I definitely want to be in there against Tulane."