Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich has a second-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen on Friday.
Leftwich, who was injured in Thursday night’s preseason game, avoided a complete tear of the MCL, but nevertheless it remains a debilitating injury that is likely to prevent him from starting Pittsburgh’s regular-season opener.
An MRI exam confirmed the injury, the sources said. Leftwich was expected to start during Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension, which was reduced from six to four games, it was announced Friday.
A Steelers spokesman said the team had no comment as of Friday morning.
Leftwich told the Steelers initially that he wanted to avoid surgery and believed he still could start against the Atlanta Falcons a week from Sunday, but a team source termed that possibility as “not likely,” Mortensen reported.
Dennis Dixon is now expected to start for Pittsburgh.
“It’s an opportunity, I guess, but it’s unfortunate for Byron for what he went through,” Dixon, who has only one NFL start, told reporters after Thursday’s game, a 19-3 victory over Carolina. “But this team has to continue to go forward. I know once he’s going to come back he’s going to give us nothing but tremendous support.”
Source: ESPN.com
