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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson admitted that he was initially reluctant to go to the hospital after sustaining an injury in the team's 27-19 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football in Week 8. In a postgame interview with Amazon Prime Video's sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung, Watson explained that leaving the stadium via ambulance was a challenging experience.
"It was tough. Honestly, I never wanted to go," Watson said. "I was hoping that they would let me off. I said I was kinda feeling better once I kinda caught my breath. But I mean they said there was a couple of signs that made them have to take me over there." He added, "It is what it is. I was just praying that it was good enough to where I could come back out here. Obviously, thankfully it was and I was able to get back out."
The injury occurred in the second quarter when Watson caught a 53-yard deep pass from quarterback Jordan Love. He landed hard on the ball as he hit the ground and stayed down, rolling onto his back before receiving attention from Green Bay's training staff. Watson eventually walked off the field under his own power and was further evaluated in the blue medical tent. He then walked to the locker room before boarding an ambulance, again under his own strength, to undergo what the team called "precautionary testing" at a local hospital.
Many assumed Watson would not be able to return to action after heading to the hospital. However, the doctors who evaluated him cleared him to play, as Watson explained to Hartung after the game. "No internal bleeding. No anything that was raising suspicion," Watson said, describing the test results. "Because I was spitting a little blood at first, so they just wanted to make sure there was nothing crazy."
Those results allowed Watson not only to return to Lambeau Field but also to take the field in the second half. He arrived back at the stadium via ambulance early in the second half and came running out of the locker room midway through the third quarter. Watson was met with cheers from the fans in attendance, a gesture that he greatly appreciated. "It was surreal running out and just hearing the fans having my back like that," Watson said. "It's tough any time that you have to go off the field or you think you're injured or you're going down with something. So, just to come back out here and get that kind of response from the fans was incredible."
Watson checked back into the game and was immediately targeted by Jordan Love on his first snap back. He couldn't reel in that target amid double coverage, but he logged two second-half receptions after returning to the field. Watson was grateful both to return to the field and to avoid significant injury during the Packers' 27-19 victory. "I'm trying to be on the football field. That's first and foremost for me," Watson said. "Thankfully, I was able to get back out there."
The 27-year-old expressed confidence that he will be able to heal up during the Packers' mini-bye and be ready to play in their next game against the New England Patriots in Week 9. "I'm feeling good," Watson said. "I've got a little pads on the ribs to make sure to take care of that over the extra little break we've got before our next game, and we'll be good to go next week."
Originally reported by yahoo.