The Texans had known for four months that Pro Bowl kick returner Jerome Mathis was trying to overcome a sore left foot. They hoped a little rehabilitation and rest would help it heal, but they were wrong. An extensive set of X-rays revealed Mathis has a stress fracture in his foot. He will undergo surgery on Friday and then faces at least four months of rehab. Coach Gary Kubiak said he hopes Mathis will return around Week 5 or Week 6.
Mathis started experiencing pain in his left foot in February at the Pro Bowl. Routine X-rays didn't reveal any stress fracture, though. Mathis then missed part of the offseason workout program because of a motorcycle accident, during which he injured his hands. X-rays after the accident also failed to show a stress fracture in his foot. When the pain failed to go away, however, the Texans contacted Dr. Tom Clanton, the team orthopedist, who ordered an extensive set of X-rays. "Where this stress fracture takes place, you could have taken maybe 20 X-rays and only seen it on two," Kubiak said. Kevin Bastin, the Texans' head athletic trainer, said the X-rays make it appear unlikely the motorcycle accident contributed to the injury. "If it was recent, you'd see a lot of fluid around the joint or around the fracture site, and we just don't see that," Bastin said. "That's what really tells us it happened possibly in the Pro Bowl."
