Colts OC Bruce Arians Hospitalized; Doesn't Appear to Be Serious

In news that will surely cause Indianapolis Colts fans an added dose of anxiety, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was taken to the hospital and will miss Sunday's Wild Card Game against the Baltimore Ravens.

UPDATE: Monday, Jan. 7 at 12:16 p.m. ET

Phillymag.com's Tim McManus has the latest on Bruce Arians.

"

Bruce Arians will be released from hospital "any minute" after being treated for inner-ear infection. Interviews as early as mid-week.

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) January 7, 2013"

---End of Update---

UPDATE: Sunday, Jan. 6 at 7:05 p.m. ET by Ben Chodos

The illness that caused Bruce Arians to miss the Indianapolis Colts' 24-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens does not appear to be serious. 

ESPN's Rachel Nichols reported the following via Twitter:

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Colts owner Jim Irsay on Bruce Arians: "He's had extensive testing & it doesn't appear to be anything extremely serious or life threatening"

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) January 6, 2013"

This is excellent news regarding Arians, and fans across the NFL will be hoping for more of the same. 

---End of Update---

From Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star:

"

#colts OB Bruce Arians took ill this morning, taken to the hospital. Will not be at the game. Clyde Christensen will handle the offense.

— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) January 6, 2013"

Thankfully, it doesn't seem like anything too serious, according to Kimberly Jones of the NFL Network:

"

Colts say Bruce Arians is in hospital & "doing fine" but will not call game. Clyde Christianson will call game. Arians was out Thurs w/flu.

— Kimberly Jones (@KimJonesSports) January 6, 2013"

Finally, Mike Garafolo of USA Today has more information on the duration of Arians' hospital stay:

"

Arians will stay overnight. Under further evaluation. He's doing fine, though, says the team.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 6, 2013"

It sounds as though this isn't anything too serious, so that's a relief. After head coach Chuck Pagano had to battle though leukemia this season, I think the Colts and their coaching staff have had enough ailments to deal with for one season.

Arians was brilliant as Pagano's replacement head coach during that time, leading the team to a 9-3 record while Pagano underwent chemotherapy treatment. As a result, Arians has become one of the hottest names in this year's head coaching search, and deservedly so.

The development of Andrew Luck, who already plays like a veteran quarterback (minus the interceptions), is at least partially due to the scheme Arians has drawn up for him. He was also a favorite of Ben Roethlisberger during his tenure as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After spending much of this season trying to win for Pagano, the Colts can now draw some inspiration trying to win one for Arians too, who will surely be watching eagerly from his hospital bed.

I'm sure a Colts win would do wonders for his recovery.