Andre Johnson's injured finger worse than thought

Texans WR Andre Johnson's dislocated finger was a little more serious than originally revealed.

Johnson, widely considered the NFL's premier wide receiver, was taken to a Houston hospital Tuesday morning after the bone of his left index finger busted through the skin and caused blood to spurt from the wound, he told USA TODAY on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Pro Bowler said he jumped in the air for a pass during a drill and the football hit the tip of his finger, dislocating the digit.

"I had a glove on and when I made a fist, my index finger didn't feel right. When I looked at it, it was kind of ugly, so I popped it back into place,'' he said. "I was fine, wasn't in any pain or anything. But the sweat from my glove got in the cut where the bone broke the skin. It started burning. When I took my glove off, that's when the blood started running out.''

Johnson said he went to his receivers coach, Larry Kirksey. "He said, 'What's wrong?' He saw the blood running out and was like, 'Oh, hell, no.' ''
The receiver said he did not need stitches but was told by doctors that the cuts he sustained would need about three days to heal. The finger, resting on a small splint, is heavily bandaged.

"Once the cuts close, I can start practicing again. They say, hopefully, sometime this weekend,'' Johnson said.

The veteran, who was hobbled virtually all of last season with a high ankle sprain, did find some humor in the situation a day later after the accident.

"I was walking by (Texans' running back) Chris Ogbonnaya and he was carrying his sandals,'' Johnson said. "Somehow, his sandal got hooked up with my (injured) finger) and he started pulling me (down the hallway). I was like, 'Whoa, whoa…'' He said, 'Sorry, man, my bad!' We just both laughed about it.''

Click here to order Andre Johnson’s proCane Rookie Card.


(usatoday.com)