EL SEGUNDO — At one point, the pain was so bad that Chargers outside linebacker Joey Bosa said he was sleeping on an exercise ball he got from the training room at NFL headquarters. ‘team. He said he curled up in the fetal position for hours because it was the only way to relieve the pain.
It started with lower back pain that was manageable, but he said Friday he knew something was wrong the day after the session. Chargers win against the Carolina Panthers September 15. He did his best to get through a week of practice while the team stayed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
But when he ran onto the field for the Chargers’ game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh the following Sunday, he knew he was taking a chance. Usually, he said he was sprinting across the field from the locker room, trying to outrun his teammates for the pregame warmup. This time he could barely run.
Bosa lasted one play before his left leg gave out and he had to leave the game to sit on the bench. The lower back pain moved to his left buttock and eventually caused irritation along the sciatic nerve that runs from the back and hip area down the side of each leg. In Bosa’s case, it was his left leg.
The pain was excruciating, never-ending, and he was unable to perform any rehabilitation exercises after the team returned from Pittsburgh. He couldn’t sleep because the pain kept him awake while he stayed in bed. The only cure for his sleepless nights was to drape himself over that big exercise ball and hope the Sandman would come.
It’s been more than a month, but the healing process has finally taken hold and Bosa said Friday that he will play in the Chargers’ game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. How many games he plays is still to be determined, but it’s likely he’ll play a limited number of snaps.
“I feel good,” he said in his first public comments since he was injured in the game against Pittsburgh on September 22. “It’s been a tough five weeks, very tough now, but I’m starting to come to my senses. I’ve had three really good days in a row. I took it easy (Friday). It’s been really interesting.
“I told you (reporters) how good I felt and here I am, missing all these weeks, but it’s finally happening. I had two good practices. I think going through this week, this game, I think it’s going to continue to add up (days) and I’m going to continue to improve and hopefully get back to the shape I was in.
“I’m definitely going to be there (Sunday).”
He thanked his family, teammates and coaches, athletic training staff and his therapist for lifting his spirits and doing what they could to help him recover physically and mentally. He revealed that the strain of his injury was often difficult to bear emotionally, given his string of injuries over the past few seasons.
Bosa played only nine games last season and five during the 2022 season.
“I’m just grateful to have a great team around me,” he said. “I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be here or be as successful as I am without all these people around me. So, I just want to thank everyone, including my teammates, for supporting me, not pushing me and just being there for me.
“Dealing with things like this makes you realize that it could be over at any moment. I just don’t want to take anything for granted. I don’t want to look back and say, “I should, I could, I would.” I think I have a few years left, hopefully, a few good years and I just want to take advantage of my opportunity.
Bosa, 29, said he doesn’t believe the end of his nine-year NFL career is near, but that it’s not too hard to imagine it ending in the not-too-distant future. too far away. After all, he was sidelined due to a broken hand that required surgery during training camp as well as foot and groin injuries that limited him to just a handful of matches over the last few seasons.
“Your mind tends to ruminate, to go to the future, to go to the past,” he said. “What if I did that?” What if I did that? When you enter this state, it’s important to pick it up and take it, maybe not one day at a time, but one minute at a time, one hour at a time. It’s pretty trendy to talk about being mindful and staying in the moment, but there’s a reason it’s popular because it’s important.
