Pisa Tinoisamoa tried to be soldier and play through it.
His mind told him to keep pushing but his right knee simply wouldn’t let him.
“It was painful,” the Bears linebacker said. “I’d go home, and it’d hurt; walk around, and it’d hurt. I mean, that’s not right. It’s not supposed to do that.”
The only option was surgery and Tinoisamoa reluctantly had a minor arthroscopic procedure Dec. 3. Some loose particles from previous cartilage damage needed to be cleaned up if he had any hopes of being fully healthy for the postseason.
“It isn’t like we just have four games left in the season,” Tinoisamoa said. “We feel like we have a lot of games left. My goal is to get healthy so that when the games do count in the postseason, I’ll be able to contribute good stuff.”
Tinoisamoa won’t have the opportunity to contribute Sunday after being ruled out for the Bears- Patriots showdown at Soldier Field. But Nick Roach, his backup at strong-side linebacker, appears to be recovered from a hip/back injury that limited him in practice this week.
Roach is listed as questionable but expects to play.
“Any time anybody goes down, no matter what position it is, you don’t want to have any dropoff,” Roach said. “From that standpoint, of course, I want to play well. I have to make some plays.”
Tinoisamoa and Roach battled for the starting job during training camp, with Tinoisamoa emerging on top. He started the first nine games then missed the Thursday night Miami game mainly because of the quick turnaround. He returned the next week against the Eagles then didn’t even make the trip to Detroit.
Last season, Tinoisamoa suffered from articulating cartilage damage in his knee that resulted in season-ending surgery after just two games played. He also ruptured the posterior cruciate ligament in the same knee during the ’09 season opener at Green Bay.
At 29, Tinoisamoa knows his body might need the occasional tuneup.
“You understand that with age, it kind of just happens,” he said. “But I’m dealing with it day to day. Stuff happens, and you try to make the best of it. … I’m trying to be smart about it, this time.”
Coach Lovie Smith seems optimistic Tinoisamoa will be back in action sooner than later.
“We just want him to get better,” Smith said. “I’m hoping he’ll be ready to go next week.”
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