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Jerry Jones, who’s served as the Dallas Cowboys’ team physician since 1989, told KRLD 105.3 Wednesday morning that the team’s quarterback, Tony Romo, will be medically able to play Sunday against the 6-1 Arizona Cardinals.
Romo, who had two back surgeries in 2013 — one before the season to remove a cyst and one after the season to repair structural damage — took a vicious Keenan Robinson knee to the back during the third quarter of the Cowboys’ Monday night game with Washington.
Jones made an immediate diagnosis Monday, allowing Romo to return to the game.
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“We knew there were no structural issues when they gave him the X-rays,” Jones said Monday. “I was very concerned by the fact that he laid there as long as he laid there. After we looked at the play and saw that was a knee kind of to the side of the back, then we felt better about it.”
Jones said Wednesday that his initial diagnosis had been confirmed.
“At this time, we have nothing medically that would prevent him from playing,” Jones said on The Fan. “What I mean by that is that there’s nothing to his injury that technically won’t function. This is a function of pain tolerance. But it’s a serious issue that you could look at people that have had a similar type injury and they haven’t played the next week, so that would cause you some concern about him playing.”
Clearly, Sunday will be a test of Romo’s testicularity, as compared to other professional athletes who didn’t play because of niggling, screaming pain, despite have a technically functional back — i.e. able to hold a player upright and allow him to wear a jersey.
“If Tony doesn’t play, it’s because he’s not gutsy enough to deserve a $108 million contract,” Dr. Jones went on to not say but make sure we were all thinking. “A few painkilling shots and maybe an epidural and he’ll be good to go.”
