Sometime in the second quarter of Saturday’s 20-19 win over the Rams at Cowboys Stadium, nose tackle Jay Ratliff left the game with what turns out to be a high ankle sprain.
Ratliff had just come back from a plantar fascitiis injury that had kept him out of action for most of the preseason, and looked to be in fine form before his injury. He anchored the line well, was disruptive, and it didn't take long for Ratliff to be his old self: I couldn't help but chuckle when on the second play of the first drive Ratliff got into a little skirmish and exchanged words with the Rams' linemen.
Depending on their severity, high ankle sprains usually sideline a player between two to four weeks, which would keep Ratliff out of the season opener at least, but one source in the locker room said, "He’s playing." in reference to the Giants game on Sept. 5. Anthony Spencer was less optimistic about Ratliff's chances, calling it "a little alarming" to see Ratliff only able to walk with the help of crutches.
After the break, injury updates on the three other players hurt in last night's game.
The three other injures appear to be less serious.
DeMarco Murray bruised his right hand, but reports from the game indicate he was high fiving and shaking hands with the bruised hand, so it doesn't appear to be too serious. Expect Murray to be back at practice on Monday.
Danny McCray left the game with what turned out to be a strained neck and stinger. McCray was involved in a violent collision with Gerald Sensabaugh as both were going after a deflected pass in their own endzone. McCray initially appeared to have suffered an arm or shoulder injury, as he was seen heavily favoring his right arm:
"I was looking up for the ball and the next thing I know I’m on the ground and my arm is numb and I have no idea what’s going on," McCray said. "I didn’t know what was happening. The only thing I was worried about was being able to move my arm. I couldn’t at that moment. I’m glad it’s not anything worse than that."
But X-rays later confirmed the stinger:
"I got X-rays and everything and they saw nothing," McCray said. "They’re calling it a stinger and we’ll look at it again tomorrow and see if anything has changed."
Matt Johnson left the game after just a couple of snaps with tightness in his right hamstring. This is particularly frustrating for the rookie safety, as he had been sidelined by an injury to his left hamstring for most of camp.
"Really disappointing, I don’t know what else to say about it," Johnson said. "I try to believe that everything happens for a reason, but it’s kind of hard to see why it keeps happening. Trying to do everything right rehab-wise, diet-wise, strengthening it. And then the other one happens. So we’ll just get on top of it, try to get it healthy as soon as I can."
In other injury news, Jason Garret said that he expects center Phil Costa to practice on Monday. Jerry Jones expects a little more:
"I'm expecting him to play Wednesday," Jones said. "It would surprise me if he doesn't play Wednesday."
And for those who missed the final minutes of the game last night: Wide receiver Saalim Hakim returned to action last night and found himself on the receiving end of a 20-yard pass from Rudy Carpenter. Unfortunately, an illegal formation penalty on McQuistan negated the play. Hakim had been out with a dislocated finger and a chipped bone in the same finger that required surgery.