Report: Ben Roethlisberger can suffer nerve damage if he comes back too soon

According to Peter King of SI.com, if Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger rushes back to the field, he could end up suffering nerve damage in his right shoulder. Roethlisberger has no sense when he’ll be able to return. But according to Dr. Clark Fuller, the director of Thoracic Surgery at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., Roethlisberger has to be careful about returning too soon because of damage it can do to nerves in the right shoulder and arm, major blood vessels in the area, and, as Roethlisberger admitted last week, the aorta around the heart. “This is not about being a tough guy,” said Fuller, who has neither examined Roethlisberger nor seen his X-rays or scans. So he made it clear he was speaking generally about the dislocation of the first rib, which is connected to the breast bone on one side and the spine on the other. A throwing motion, he said, would not allow the rib to heal, and he would not recommend it any time soon. “Playing football with a dis...