DES MOINES INVITATIONAL INJURY REPORT (4-27-2014)
DES MOINES, Iowa ― After being further evaluated at a nearby medical facility Saturday night, local doctors in Des Moines, Iowa, confirmed Justin Granger sustained periorbital fractures that will require surgery.
Granger also suffered a possible eye injury when he was pulled down onto the head of Whiskey Bent in the opening round of this weekend’s Built Ford Tough Series event. He was transported by ambulance from Wells Fargo Arena and remains hospitalized.
Opening round winner Zane Lambert sustained a left thigh contusion on his first attempt in Round 1 when he was bucked off by Montana Madness in 2.11 seconds during the third out of the event.
However, he received a re-ride option.
Later in the round, Lambert, who was already competing with a sprained right ankle, rode Prince Albert for 87.25 points to take the early lead in the Des Moines Invitational.
Lambert finished the weekend by splitting second and third in the average with Ryan Dirteater. Renato Nunes won his first event of 2014 and was the lone rider to go 3-for-3.
Billy Robinson and Markus Mariluch both missed the Built Ford Tough Championship Round with injuries sustained Sunday afternoon in Round 2.
Robinson broke his jaw when he was pulled down in the chute and struck the top rail before his second-round ride. He is questionable for next week’s BFTS event in Colorado Springs, Colo., as is Mariluch, who hyperextended his right elbow (riding arm) during his second-round ride attempt on Snitch.
Robinson was returning this weekend from a strained left groin.
Several other riders returned to competition after missing time because of various injuries, including J.B. Mauney.
The reigning World Champion missed the past two BFTS events – Nampa, Idaho, and Billings, Mont. – with what Dr. Tandy Freeman described as a complicated sprained left wrist. However, Mauney, 27, is also listed as competing with a left thigh bruise, which was previously unreported.
A pair of Top-15 ranked Brazilians – Marco Eguchi and Emilio Resende – also returned.
Eguchi was out with a bruised right forearm, while Resende had strained his right elbow and right thumb.
PBR veteran and fan favorite Robson Palermo is the latest rider to be added among the list of those out due to injury.
Palermo is expected to miss six months following surgery to repair a right shoulder dislocation, glenoid fracture and a rotator cuff tear. The three-time World Finals event winner remains hopeful that he will return in time for this year’s World Finals in October.
According to an updated injury report, Chase Outlaw remains out with a strained right groin.
Shane Proctor is out following surgical reconstruction he had back in January of an unstable left shoulder and is planning to be re-evaluated by Dr. Tandy Freeman at the Last Cowboy Standing in Las Vegas with the hope of returning to competition in June.
Nathan Schaper is looking forward to returning to competition later this summer after breaking his left leg in Anaheim, Calif., and requiring surgery with the placement of a rod in the tibia.
Reese Cates is out for six months with a right shoulder dislocation that required surgical stabilization. He is expected to return to competition in late September.
Follow Keith Ryan Cartwright on Twitter @PBR_KRC.
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