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New Diagnosis For Tank Dell's Horrific Injury Has Been Revealed

Originally posted on The Spun | By Matt Hladik | Last updated Dec 24, 2024 4:28 PM ET

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is facing a long road to recovery after suffering a gruesome knee injury last Saturday.

Texans wide receiver Jared Wayne collided with Dell's left knee when he dove for a pass in the end zone against the Kansas City Chiefs. Dell actually caught the ball for a touchdown, but his knee was shredded in the process. On Monday, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed the second-year wideout dislocated his knee along with tearing his ACL.

Now, a new report from Click2Houston's Aaron Wilson says the damage Dell suffered was even more extensive. Dell, per Wilson, "tore his medial collateral and lateral collateral ligaments and sustained damage to his meniscus."

Wilson also wrote that because of the severity of Dell's injury and the timing of it, the 25-year-old returning to the field is "an extremely unlikely scenario."

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DECEMBER 21: Joe Mixon #28 of the Houston Texans consoles C.J. Stroud #7 as Tank Dell #3 is loaded into a medical vehicle after Dell sustained an injury in the third quarter of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 21, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jason Hanna/Getty Images)Jason Hanna/Getty Images

The seriousness of Dell's injury was immediately apparent on Saturday. Training and medical personnel rushed to the aide of the former University of Houston star, while some of Dell's Texans teammates, including quarterback C.J. Stroud, were visibly emotional on the field.

“The worst thing that you want to hear is ‘Everything is going to be OK,’” Stroud said. “Clearly, he doesn’t want to hear that. It’s good to say it, and I think he needs to hear the truth, but let him spend his time with his family. Our job is just to give him a little bit of room to breathe and take in what’s really going on and mentally just get sane. It’s not easy, but I’m gonna be here for him and that’s my brother.”

In his press conference Monday, Ryans stressed the need to support Dell through what is going to be an arduous rehabilitation process.

"Right now, the focus is just on Tank, just going through this process, getting the surgery, getting recovered, we’ll deal with that when it comes,” Ryans said. “I don’t think it’s the time right now to discuss what’s going to happen next season with Tank, just allow him to get this time to heal up and recover.”

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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