Aidan Hutchinson likely down 4-6 months with broken leg, Lions coach Dan Campbell says

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aidan Hutchinson is likely done playing this year because of the leg injury he sustained against the Cowboys, but surgery to repair his fractured tibia and fibula “went great” and Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday he isn't ready to declare his star pass rusher out for the season.

Hutchinson was carted off the field Sunday in the third quarter of Detroit's 47-9 win over Dallas and had surgery at Baylor White Medical Center.

“The surgery went great — it is all good news,” Campbell said. “It's probably 4-6 months, but I would never count Hutch out. It hurts, but if anyone could make it back, it is him.”

Hutchinson was set to return this week to Detroit from the Dallas-area hospital.

“It’s really tough and he’s a guy who’s part of the heartbeat of this team,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said after the game. “He will be fine, you know, he’s going to come back eventually whenever that may be but knowing him he will be fine and he will bounce back.”

Hutchinson's leg appeared to snap above the ankle when it collided with the left leg of teammate Alim McNeill as Hutchinson was pulling Dallas QB Dak Prescott down for a sack.

“I haven’t seen it myself so I couldn’t really tell,” McNeill said. “I didn’t know if it was him or not, but I did feel somebody like leg-whip me, and then I see Hutch down. That’s wild to see. I hate that for him.”

The Lions were leading 34-6 at the time of the injury to Hutchinson, who entered the game as the NFL leader in sacks with 6 1/2.

There was a delay of about 10 minutes as medical personnel tended to Hutchinson while players from both teams made a large circle around the second overall pick in the 2022 draft.

After Hutchinson was loaded onto a cart with a cast on his leg, teammates and Dallas players reached over to pat the 24-year-old. Hutchinson had the third Detroit sack of the game. McNeill had the first two.

“That’s hard for everybody when you’re standing there and that’s one of yours and something like that happens,” Campbell said after the game. “If you dwell on that too much and you start playing a little timid, that’s when you get hurt. So guys snapped right back in and they lived in the moment where we’re on.”

Prescott, who landed on top of Hutchinson's left leg after the injury occurred, sustained a similar injury to his right leg on the same field in Week 5 in 2020, ending his season.

Dallas' star quarterback was among the players who tried to offer Hutchinson words of encouragement as he was taken off the field.

“It’s just something that I felt in the moment,” Prescott said. “I’ll probably get his number from one of the Michigan guys in the locker room and reach out again. ... When you’re in that, it’s blurry. So I don’t even know if he heard them. Don’t care if he heard them. I understand where he was.”

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Detroit Lions players kneel on the field as Aidan Hutchinson, not pictured, is attended to by staff afer suffering an unkown injury second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) is attended to by team staff after suffering an unknown injury second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) recovers from being sacked by Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, left, in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Detroit Lions' Aidan Hutchinson (97) is checked on by DJ Reader (98) and others after suffering an unknown injury in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is carted off the field after suffering an unknown injur in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) is attended to by team staff after suffering an unknown injury second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

BERLIN (AP) — Bochum's goalkeeper was struck on the head by an object apparently thrown from the stands at Union Berlin and both Bundesliga teams left the field on Saturday. When the game resumed, they ran down the clock without trying to score.

Patrick Drewes was preparing to take a goalkick at 1-1 in added time when he was hit by an object with a similar size and shape to a cigarette lighter. He sat down and was given medical treatment.

The referee suspended the game and led both teams off the field.

Nearly half an hour later, the game resumed and Drewes was replaced by striker Philipp Hofmann. With about three minutes left of the game, both teams agreed to not try to score.

Players passed the ball around the field, walked and had conversations with opponents while waiting for the referee to declare the game over.

“Our coach and their coach, they discussed it together and the coach told us that we’ll go out there and bring the game to an end, and that’s what we did," Hofmann told broadcaster Sky.

He indicated more than one lighter had been thrown around the time of the incident. Hofmann added Drewes was being treated by Bochum staff and that he didn't know his condition.

“It’s not acceptable. No matter how hard he was struck, whether he’s bleeding or not, it’s just not appropriate,” he said.

Bochum chief executive Ilja Kaenzig said his club would file a formal protest over the result of the game, arguing that the referee should have it called after the incident. Union is likely to face disciplinary action over its hosting of the game, too.

Bochum had already made substitutions at three different points in the game, meaning it would not have been possible to bring on another goalkeeper to replace Drewes. Bochum finished the game with nine players because of Drewes' absence and an earlier red card.

Union was 12th and Bochum last in the 18-team Bundesliga.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes , third from right, kneels on the ground after being hit on the head with an object during a Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfL Bochum, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Berlin. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes shows an object with which he was hit on the head during a Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfL Bochum, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Berlin. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes kneels on the ground after being hit on the head with an object during a Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfL Bochum, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Berlin. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)

Ivan Ordets from VfL Bochum, left, and Berlin's Tom Rothe in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfL Bochum in Berlin, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)