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On one hand, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey is "highly, highly unlikely" to play in Pittsburgh's Week 7 game at Cincinnati.
On other, he might be able to play.
I suppose both reports could be correct. Even if it's highly x2 unlikely he'll play, he still might be able to play. Is this just a case of one reporter seeing the Cup 'o Pouncey as half injured, vs. another reporter seeing it as half healthy?
The reality is a usable ankle is a necessary component to an effective center. It's not a question of Pouncey's toughness, it's whether he'll be capable of playing at the level he'd need to be effective against a pretty strong interior Bengals defensive line.
One incontrovertible fact I am reminded of each week in watching the NFL is the men who play in the league are freaks of nature, regardless of how they perform in comparison to their contemporaries.
In my own modest (to put it mildly) athletic pursuits I've had my leg rolled over the way Pouncey's has, seemingly multiple times at this point in his young career. I've also taken a helmet off the knee the way running back Isaac Redman did. Both things happened at probably one quarter of the speed that happened to those two, and by guys weighing half as much. I still remember both instances due to the amount of pain I was in for some time after they happened. Each time I see it, I think to myself there's no way he's coming back.
The fact it's even in discussion always gets me wide-eyed in amazement. Even if Pouncey isn't able to play Sunday (Redman hasn't been mentioned, likely just a victim of one of the general "bumps and bruises" categories of injuries), the fact it's even being discussed is impressive.