“People said why not earlier. Well, we wanted to try to see if we could manage. I’d come in on Tuesday to practice and it would feel good, and by Thursday, it was almost like a tire was slowly losing air. It kind of hurt me on Thursday. We figured it was time to get it done. Doctors agreed and said let’s do it now.” — Ben



Ben was at Steelers mini-camp this morning and answered a few questions from the media about the surgery on his knee:


June112013newsHow does the knee feel?

It feels great. I saw Dr. (Jim) Bradley this morning, and he was pleasantly surprised with the range of motion and where we are at, and the swelling. So, it feels great. I’ve been off crutches for a couple of days now. I’m moving around good. I think I could play Sunday if I had to.


Is the discomfort gone?

It’s still too early to tell. According to Dr. Bradley the surgery went really well. My knee is in great shape. They took care of the little problem. It had been bothering me a little last year, and we decided now is the time to take care of it.


More cleanup than repair?

Absolutely. There was no repair. It was just clean up.


Re: Same cleanup on the other knee:

The same knee. There were some reports but it was the same knee. So it was a very similar thing.


What will you do this week?

Watch. I’ll ride the bike a lot. That’s pretty much it. I will be here to support the quarterbacks, offense and coaches. I’ll do whatever I can do just to add moral support.


Are you broken up that you will miss minicamp?

It’s killing me, actually. It tears me up [Laughs].


Did you get enough work in during the last couple of weeks?

Yeah, I was here for every practice. I felt good. Honestly, I don’t ever like to miss practice but I’ll be ready for training camp.


You can read more from Ms. Varley at Steelers.com here.

You can also watch the video of Ben’s interview here.