J.J. Watt will miss the rest of the season with a fractured leg

J.J. Watt went down with an injury in the first quarter of Sunday Night Football. Watt was rushing Alex Smith and his leg twisted. He left NRG Stadium in an ambulance, where doctors confirmed Watt has a tibial plateau fracture. Watt will miss the rest of the 2017 season.

On Monday, Watt underwent surgery on his left leg, but he’s in for a “long recovery,” according to Ian Rapoport.

A tibial plateau fracture is a break in the shin bone right under the knee, according to NBC’s Michelle Tafoya on the Sunday Night Football broadcast. Watt couldn’t put any weight on the injured leg, and he had to be helped from the field and carted from the sideline. He’ll undergo an MRI to check for ligament damage.

Watt was visibly emotional as medical staff examined him. On Monday morning, he tweeted that he was (understandably) devastated

Outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus was taken to the locker room before Watt was injured. It’s a torn pectoral for Mercilus, and he will miss the rest of the season, according to the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain. So two of Houston’s best defenders are off the field for the season.

Wasn’t J.J. Watt injured last year? Yes, he was. He missed most of the season with a back injury that required surgery to repair.

He worked his way back to the field this year, but had yet to post a single sack for the Texans. He finished with 11 tackles and two pass breakups on the year.