Steelers receiver Hines Ward will play in Super Bowl XLIII – no big surprise – but even he admits he won’t be 100 percent, and he won’t practice before Thursday. He is officially listed as questionable.
“I’m not going to be 100 percent, I’m not going to trick anybody,” Ward said. “But I think I’m going to be able to go out there and perform like I’m used to.”
Ward said he will likely wear a knee brace in the game, which might affect his route-running. The Steelers remain 7-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.
“I think I have to play with it,” said Ward, who sprained his MCL in the AFC Championship Game. “In case you fall down on it, you don’t want to re-injure falling down. The thing is, you want to play with a brace and make sure it doesn’t affect your route-running ability. Time will tell.”
Ward is going to sleep in his hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which he had shipped to town before the team’s arrival. He believes it will aid his recovery and give him the best chance to be effective in Super Bowl XLIII. A hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which “feeds” the body with more oxygen, can help kill germs and rebuild damaged tissues.
“I’ve worked my tail off to get to this point, and there is no way I’m going to miss this game,” he said. “I’m putting in overtime to make sure that I can set up my opportunities to go out here and help this team win a Super Bowl.”
Ward led the Steelers in the regular season with 81 receptions and 1,043 yards. He isn’t worried about having just two days of practice before the game and said he feels “10 times better” than he did last week.
“People [have asked] me all week if he’s going to be out there and I want to smack them,” Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger said. “First of all, it’s the Super Bowl. Second of all, it’s Hines Ward. He’s going to be out there and he’s going to be just fine.”
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