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Friday, August 11, 2000
Injured ribs Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala made a promising start at tailback in the Pittsburgh Steelers'13-0 victory against Carolina yesterday but left the game before the half suffering from bruised ribs.
sideline Steelers’
Fuamatu-Ma‘afala
The running back from
Hawaii sets up a score
before pain forces him out of
Pittsburgh's win against CarolinaBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinFuamatu-Ma'afala, the third-year pro from Kalihi, had earned the start after Saturday's 122-yard performance in a 13-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
It was actually during the Miami game that Fuamatu-Ma'afala suffered the rib injury, according to his fiancee, Adriana Wilson, who watched the Carolina game via satellite TV downtown yesterday with family members.
She said Fuamatu-Ma'afala wanted to tough out the injury and see if it felt better during the week. But the discomfort apparently became too much after he gained 19 yards on four carries.
But Fuamatu-Ma'afala set up Pittsburgh's first score in the game that made the Steelers 3-0 in preseason.
After Carolina quarterback Jeff Lewis' fumble was recovered by Jason Gildon at the Panthers' 11, Fuamatu-Ma'afala gained 7 yards on two carries to set up Kordell Stewart's 4-yard touchdown run with 9:05 left in the half.
Wilson said she didn't think Fuamatu-Ma'afala will be sidelined very long, and could be back when the Steelers host Indianapolis on Aug. 19.
The Steelers are four deep in running backs but Fuamatu-Ma'afala now joins Jerome Bettis (bruised knee) and Richard Huntley (hamstring) on the trainer's table.
Second-year pro Amos Zereoue played most of the game at tailback for Pittsburgh.
Fuamatu-Ma'afala, a former all-state player for St. Louis School, has been plagued by injuries since being drafted by Pittsburgh out of Utah in the sixth round of the 1998 draft.
He was shelved well into the start of last season with an ankle injury he suffered in training camp.
He becomes a free agent at the end of this season.
