Steelers fear Tyson Alualu lost for the season, other injuries piling up after Raiders loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers were unable to pull off a second straight comeback after they dropped their first game of the season to the Las Vegas Raiders 26-17 at Heinz Field in Week 2. While the Steelers entered Week 2 relatively healthy, that all changed on Friday when two starters ended up on the injury report.

After Friday’s practice, both Joe Haden (groin) and Devin Bush (groin) were listed as questionable heading into Sunday. After pre-game warm ups, they were deemed not ready to play, and were inactive for the game.

But it got worse once the game started. First, it was Tyson Alualu who left with a fractured ankle, and then it was T.J. Watt who exited with a groin injury of his own. To make matters worse, on the final play of the game, Diontae Johnson injured his knee on a meaningless play.

After the game, Mike Tomlin spoke about the injuries and said Haden and Bush had “soft tissue” injuries. Tomlin said Alualu’s ankle injury will force him out of the lineup for a “significant amount of time”, and Watt’s groin will be monitored.

After the game, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Alualu will have surgery on his ankle Monday, and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

With the injuries piling up, the Steelers will have to prepare for their first AFC North divisional contest with the Cincinnati Bengals coming to Heinz Field next Sunday for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.

Unfortunately, the status of these players won’t be known until at the earliest Wednesday when the players return to the practice field and the first practice report is released. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Bengals in Week 3.