Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Rainey practiced fully for a second consecutive day on Friday after injuring his ribs Sunday in the win over the New York Giants.
Rainey, who said on Thursday that he cracked a rib when he was tackled during a third quarter kickoff return, talked to the media again on Friday to talk about how he feels currently.
“Taking it day by day,” Rainey said, when asked how he is feeling. “It feels better every day. I\’m just waiting, so, see what happens for the gametime.”
Rainey was asked if that type of rib injury is painful even when he laughs.
“Oh, it definitely is,” the rookie replied. “I\’m trying to keep from laughing. The guys have been trying to get me laughing on purpose and stuff like that.”
Asked if he is still on course to play Monday night against the Kansas City Chiefs, Rainey gave a pretty clear answer.
“Oh, if I can still run, I\’m definitely going.”
While Rainey may indeed dress for the game, you still have to wonder what amount of work he will get. Both Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer are healthy and Baron Batch hasn\’t showed up on the injury report this week as well.
As far as return duties go, why risk it? Emmanuel Sanders is more than capable enough to return both punts and kickoffs, so it would be smart to limit the amount of contact that Rainey gets this week if at all possible.
Hopefully this game will be out of reach early. You know, a laugher. If that\’s the case, Rainey could still be hurting on the sideline Monday night while busting a gut. I am sure he would be fine with that.
