Sports: Turf toe: USF's Rubin can tell you it is no small injury

Turf toe: USF's Rubin can tell you it is no small injury

By PETE YOUNG

Broken bones, dislocated joints, concussions: Football is violent, its injuries jarring.

Which is why most South Florida fans probably shrugged off this tidbit in the wake of USF's 35-26 victory Sept. 8 at Pittsburgh: Star wide receiver DeAndrew Rubin suffered a turf toe injury to his right big toe.

The injury, which occurred before Rubin's spectacular 53-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter that cemented the win, didn't seem like anything to be concerned about.

It's just a sore toe, right? Ice it for a few days, miss a practice or two, then get back out there.

In the nearly five weeks since the injury, Rubin barely has played.

USF's best player in the opening two games has been reduced to a hobbled decoy for the past three.

"I didn't think it would take this long (to heal)," Rubin said. "I thought it would take like a week."

What's wrong? What is this dreaded turf toe?

"It's a sprain of the first metacarpal phalange of the joint," head athletic trainer Steve Walz said. "It's the joint connecting the toe to the foot. It's mostly ligament involvement. The ligament capsule gets stretched."

For the past few weeks, Rubin's sprain has been yo-yoing between feeling almost 100 percent and being too painful to practice.

"I told him this past week that if he wasn't 100 percent, I didn't want to take him (to Utah)," coach Jim Leavitt said. "He felt like he really could be 100 percent. I've got to go by what he told me."

After making 14 catches for 265 yards and four touchdowns in the first two games, Rubin has one catch for 6 yards and no scores the past three.

He had no receptions Saturday at Utah and was replaced as USF's punt returner.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers middle linebacker Jack Lambert was a nine-time Pro Bowl player and four-time Super Bowl winner, and he's a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.

With his gap-toothed, hockey-player snarl, Lambert looked as if he had chewed through a goal post. He was an icon, the toughest of the tough -- but not tough enough to overcome turf toe.

The injury prematurely ended his career after the 1984 season.

'Most people really don't know what it's about,' Rubin said. 'It really does hurt.'

"The toe throws people off," Walz said. "It's one of the smallest appendages, but it's a very important weight-bearing area for your balance and gait."

The term "turf toe" arose in the 1970s and '80s, when artificial surfaces became the norm in football stadiums and the injury occurred with increasing frequency. Walz said artificial turf's rigidity caused more turf toe injuries, but that he has seen turf toe on all surfaces, outdoors and indoors.

Walz said the only way to treat it, besides staying off the foot, is with ice and ultrasound. Also, a shoe insert with a metal bottom in the toe area can be used for support.

This is the second straight year Rubin has been hampered by a lower-extremity injury. A sprained ankle severely limited him over the final six games last season.

Leavitt compares fleet receivers like Rubin, who is the fastest player on the team, with racehorses: They are finely-tuned machines, and a twist here or tweak there can mess up everything.

After two sensational games to open this season, Rubin, a 6-foot, 185-pound junior from Dixie Hollins, was on the brink of establishing himself as one of the nation's best receivers. Now he must be wondering if he will get healthy before the end of the season.

"I know I'll be back (100 percent) this season," Rubin said. "It's nothing I can't deal with. I let it get me down last year, but not this year."

Rubin is optimistic, but it could be several games before he gets back to full speed.

"If we had it to do all over again, I probably would have sat him out (Sept. 22) in Memphis for two weeks until now," Leavitt said. "In hindsight, we probably should have done that."