Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt underwent surgery Thursday to stabilize and repair a partially collapsed lung, his brother and former NFL star J.J. Watt said in a post on X.
T.J. Watt was hospitalized after experiencing discomfort at Wednesday’s practice, the team had said in a statement.
His brother said he suffered a partially collapsed lung following a dry needling treatment session.
"Recovery timeline is still TBD, but all went well and he is being released from the hospital today," J.J. Watt said. "He and his family are very appreciative of everyone’s kind words and well wishes."
Dry needling is a technique that uses thin needles inserted into the skin to help manage pain and movement issues, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It is generally considered safe. Serious side effects, which are extremely rare, include a collapsed lung if the needling was performed in the thoracic area, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Watt has been ruled out for Monday night's game against the Miami Dolphins, according to a post the team shared on its official X account.
After practice on Thursday, coach Tomlin briefly addressed Watt’s health.
“I’m a little bit cautious about what I say, because I am not a medical expert,” he said. “But to make a long story short, he was experiencing some discomfort when he was at the facility yesterday. So, we took him to the docs, and they’re going through some procedures. He stayed overnight in the hospital.”
Tomlin said the star linebacker, 31, had “a lung situation” that was being addressed, but didn’t have details on when or where the discomfort started.
“I don’t know specifically when it occurred,” he said. “I know he was in the cafeteria at one point and that’s kind of when I got wind of it.”
Tomlin said he had been in communication with Watt.
When asked if Watt was dealing with anything that would have had him on the injury report at any point, Tomlin said: “Not to my knowledge at all, particularly in game or after the game, nothing.”
