Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell provided an unfortunate injury update on defensive end Aidan Hutchinson following the gruesome injury he suffered against the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s win.
Hutchinson had his left leg snap around a teammate’s leg while he recorded a sack on quarterback Dak Prescott early in the second half during the Lions’ 47-9 victory.
Campbell said his star defensive player suffered a broken tibia and was taken to a hospital in the Dallas metro area.
The tibia is the larger of the two bones in the lower leg that supports most of a person’s weight. Campbell said Hutchinson underwent immediate surgery and will stay the night at the hospital “in good hands.”
“Obviously he’s going to be down for a little while,” Campbell said after the game. “So that’s tough. Any time you lose somebody like him… but we’ll know a lot more after this and obviously we wish him the best.”
The 24-year-old was surrounded by his teammates as trainers took a closer look at him while he was still on the field. Many players from both teams reached out to him as he was being placed on the medical cart.
He recorded three tackles, a sack and three quarterback hits before he went down with the injury against Dallas.
Hutchinson ends his season leading the NFL in sacks (7.5), quarterback hits (15), quarterback pressures (42) and is tied for the percentage of his team’s sacks (50%).
Quarterback Jared Goff spoke about Hutchinson to reporters following the game.
“He’s a guy who’s part of the heartbeat of this team and a leader, does everything right. He’s everything you want in a player and teammate,” Goff said. “To have him go down like that, visibly upset is tough for all of us.”
Running back David Montgomery also spoke about Hutchinson with FOX reporter Erin Andrews on the field.
“Aidan [Hutchinson] is definitely the heartbeat of our team… We’re gonna take it personal. We wanna do it for 97,” he said.
Many on social media also reacted on social media to Hutchinson’s injury.