Arian Foster Injury Update: Hamstring Keeps Foster Away from Starting Lineup

The Houston Texans are trying to take the AFC South by storm, but it looks like their quest will begin with star running back Arian Foster sitting in street clothes on the sidelines.

Foster did enough damage to his hamstring in a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers to keep him out of the Week 1 lineup, and the MRI that he got on his leg has become folklore.

Injury Update

The Texans have listed him as questionable, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter has said that Foster will most likely be out for the team’s Week 1 matchup against division rival Indianapolis Colts.

Word from the team is that Derrick Ward and Ben Tate will share the workload in Foster’s absence, and the loss of Peyton Manning for the Colts may ease the blow of losing one of the league’s top rushers.

When's He Ready to Return?

The reports have been all over the board, from not missing anytime to missing up to a month, the Houston Texans are staying mum on when the running back will be back.

Houston does not want the injuries to linger, and the fact that he was working out hard on his own means this should be a one- or two-week rest for Foster.

Fantasy Impact

If you own Arian Foster in your fantasy league, you need to stow him on your bench and either use one of your reserves or look to Ben Tate and Derrick Ward to fill the void.

While Ward is a safer pick, Tate is a better pass-catching back that has a higher upside than Ward. Either one is a solid start this week against a porous Colts defense.

What They're Saying

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak told CBS Sports:

"

If Arian’s full speed and can play, we want him to play. We need to be at our best to win a football game, but at the same time, we’ve got to listen to what’s going on. As I said all along, the progress has been very good and I know there was more progress today, so maybe this conversation is different tomorrow. I don’t know. We’ll see.

"

Watching coaches avoid injury questions about their players is almost as painful as watching the actual injuries take place.

Check back for more on the NFL world as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NFL football page to get your fill of the NFL.

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LIFE HURTS. THIS INJURY UPDATE BROUGHT TO YOU BY DICKIES.