Packers’ Watson makes improbable ‘Thursday Night Football’ return after mid-game trip to hospital

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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson had himself a night to remember in the team’s 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers on “Thursday Night Football.”

The 27-year-old finished with a team-high eight receptions for 113 yards, got to welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to Lambeau Field following their first World Series title win 24 hours earlier, and completed a mid-game trip to the hospital.

In the second quarter, Watson made a 53-yard catch that injured his chest when Panthers cornerback Will Lee III made a diving stop. Lee was also injured on the play and carted off the field with a hamstring injury. Lee, a rookie fourth-round pick, did not return to the game.

Watson was taken out of the stadium by ambulance to a local hospital for reported “precautionary reasons” before returning via ambulance and being greeted by a raucous ovation from the Lambeau faithful after the Packers extended their lead to 27-10 in the third quarter.

The 2022 second-round pick out of North Dakota State returned to the game, where he had two more receptions as the Packers were able to fend off a late comeback attempt by Carolina.

After the game, Watson acknowledged that the experience was “tough” and expressed his thoughts on going to the hospital.

“It was tough. Honestly, I never wanted to go,” Watson told the Prime broadcast. “I was hoping that they would let me off. I said I was kinda feeling better once I kinda caught my breath. But I mean, they said there was a couple of signs that made them have to take me over there.

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“It is what it is. I was just praying that it was good enough to where I could come back out here. Obviously, thankfully it was and I was able to get back out.”

Watson explained what happened after he got to the hospital, where doctors had to rule out internal bleeding.

“No internal bleeding. No anything that was raising suspicion,” Watson said when describing what the tests had revealed. “Because I was spitting a little blood at first, so they just wanted to make sure there was nothing crazy.”

Watson later said he had a broken rib and compared the ordeal to watching World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a kid.

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The fifth-year pro added he was “feeling good” and expressed his appreciation to the Packers crowd for their reaction to his return.

“It was surreal running out and just hearing the fans having my back like that,” Watson said. “It’s tough any time that you have to go off the field or you think you’re injured, or you’re going down with something. So, just to come back out here and get that kind of response from the fans was incredible.”

With the win, the Packers improved to 5-3 on the season and will next face the New England Patriots on the road on November 8. The Panthers fell to 3-4 and will host the Denver Broncos on November 8.

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在“周四晚间橄榄球赛”中，绿湾包装工队以 27-19 战胜卡罗莱纳黑豹队的比赛中，绿湾包装工队外接手克里斯蒂安·沃森度过了一个难忘的夜晚。

这位 27 岁的球员以全队最高的 8 次接球推进 113 码的成绩结束了比赛，在 24 小时前密尔沃基酿酒人队首次赢得世界大赛冠军后，他得以在兰博球场迎接他们，并在比赛中途前往医院就诊。

第二节比赛中，沃特森完成了一次53码的接球，但在黑豹队角卫威尔·李三世飞身扑救时，沃特森胸部受伤。李三世也在这次防守中受伤，因腿筋拉伤被担架抬出场外。这位新秀四轮秀李三世没有重返赛场。

据报道，沃森因“预防性原因”被救护车送出体育场前往当地医院，之后又乘救护车返回，并在包装​​工队于第三节将领先优势扩大到 27-10 后，受到了兰博球场球迷的热烈欢呼。

这位来自北达科他州立大学的 2022 年第二轮新秀重返赛场，又完成了两次接球，帮助包装工队抵挡住了卡罗莱纳黑豹队最后的反扑。

赛后，沃森承认这次经历“很艰难”，并表达了他对去医院的看法。

“那段日子很艰难。说实话，我根本不想去，”沃森在接受Prime节目采访时说道。“我一直希望他们能放我走。我说过，等我喘过气来之后，感觉好多了。但他们说，有几个迹象表明他们不得不把我送过去。”

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“事情就是这样。我当时只是祈祷情况好转，能让我回到这里。显然，谢天谢地，情况确实如此，我又能回来了。”

沃森解释了他到医院后发生的事情，医生们必须排除内出血的可能性。

“没有内出血，也没有任何可疑之处，”沃森在描述检查结果时说道。“因为我一开始吐了点血，所以他们只是想确保没有什么异常情况。”

沃森后来表示，他肋骨骨折了，并将这段经历比作小时候观看世界摔跤娱乐（WWE）比赛。

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这位效力球队五年的职业球员补充说，他“感觉很好”，并对包装工队球迷对他回归的反应表示感谢。

“跑上场听到球迷们那样支持我，感觉太不真实了，”沃森说。“每次不得不下场，或者觉得自己受伤了，或者感觉快要倒下的时候，都很艰难。所以，能够重返赛场，得到球迷们这样的回应，真是太棒了。”

凭借这场胜利，包装工队本赛季战绩提升至5胜3负，下一场比赛将于11月8日客场挑战新英格兰爱国者队。黑豹队战绩下滑至3胜4负，将于11月8日主场迎战丹佛野马队。