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Steelers Le'Veon Bell views foot sprain as 'blessing in disguise'

While the rookie running back is disappointed he has been limited by nagging injuries so far in his first preseason, he realizes his latest wound provided his body the time to completely heal.

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

No one wants to see a promising rookie shut down prematurely due to injury.  The Pittsburgh Steelers certainly didn't want it to be the case for Le'Veon Bell, although Bell acknowledges it was probably a good thing in the bigger picture.

Bell talked about his mid-foot sprain to the media in the locker room today.  He is disappointed at his inability to play as he recovers, especially considering he was able to remain healthy during a carry-heavy collegiate career.  However, he admits the recovery time for his foot will help the rest of his body as well.

"Hurting my foot really let my knee get back to 100 percent, so I guess you could say the foot was a blessing in disguise."

Bell had been dealing with a bruised knee which he originally suffered prior to the Steelers first game, which held him out against the New York Giants.  He aggravated the injury again prior to the Washington Redskins game in which he sprained his foot, but the bruised knee did not limit his ability to be the team's starting running back entering the contest.

With his foot keeping him out of the next game against the Kansas City Chiefs, his knee bruise will now also have the chance to heal, allowing him to return without fear of re-aggravating it during the regular season.  The Steelers still want to see what he can do on the field in the game, but they are looking to make sure he is fully healthy when he returns to the lineup.

Without the foot injury, Bell would've most likely attempted to play through his knee pain which may have limited his mobility or ability to play an entire game.  Thanks to his foot, his knee should have nothing to worry about.

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