Bengals Star Joe Burrow Posts Emotional Message in First Comments Since Surgery

Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury in the Bengals' Week 2 loss to the Jaguars and was forced to undergo surgery.
Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury in the Bengals' Week 2 loss to the Jaguars and was forced to undergo surgery. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow was struck by the injury bug yet again this season. In Week 2 Burrow suffered a turf toe injury against the Jaguars that was so severe he underwent surgery to repair it last week. It was an awful twist of fate for Cincinnati and Burrow, who is one of the most exciting players in the NFL when he's right.

On Friday, Burrow gave his first public comments since surgery in the form of an Instagram post. It was an emotional message that ended with, perhaps, a dose of optimism depending on how one reads it.

"This game will break your heart," Burrow wrote under a three-photo collage of himself in uniform. "See you soon"

It's hard not to feel for the 28-year-old QB. This is Burrow's third significant injury suffered in-season; he tore his ACL as a rookie in 2020 and tore a ligament in his wrist that ended his 2023 season. Heartbreaking feels like an apporpriate descriptor for his latest ailment.

As far as Burrow's promise to "see you soon," initially a timeline to return was tabbed at about three months after surgery. So Burrow would, at best, be able to get back on the field in late December or early January. But a recent report from Fox's Jay Glazer suggests that is an optimistic timetable and Burrow may not be fully ready until the postseason begins— if the Bengals make it there while starting backup Jake Browning for the rest of the year.

Burrow's rehab journey now begins, while Cincinnati will face the Broncos in Week 4 action on Monday Night Football.


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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.