Joe Paterno's doctor has recommended still-hospitalized Paterno not take the field for the rest of the season, but it's possible the 79-year-old will sit in the coach's booth this Saturday.
Paterno, who broke his shinbone and tore two ligaments last week, also had fractured ribs from a collision in practice about a month ago, Wayne Sebastianelli, director of athletic medicine, said. Doctors discovered the broken ribs last week.
According to Sebastianelli, Paterno will not be released from Mount Nittany Medical Center until there are no worries about blood clots and the swelling in his left leg is reduced. Sebastianelli said it's a day-by-day approach, and Paterno could return home as early as today, although he won't be allowed to attend practice.
"As I told some people, I'm learning the art of negotiation as we're going through this," Sebastianelli said. "It's in his best interest to keep his leg elevated all the time. If we could make arrangements to get that done, I'd reconsider [him on the field]."
If Paterno doesn't take it easy, the main concern is the possibility of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot, in the leg vein. While not terribly serious, it could lead to pulmonary embolism, a blockage where blood cannot get to the heart.
Still, Sebastianelli reiterated that Paterno is doing just fine, although the doctor admitted he has his hands full.
"Every time I walk over, he says, 'What is the temperature like outside? Could we practice outside? Do we have to practice inside?' He is constantly thinking about what has to be done and is in communication with the coaches," Sebastianelli said. "Just because he is not physically present doesn't mean he is not coaching."
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley and offensive coordinator Galen Hall agreed at yesterday's press conference. Hall joked the pair might feel like Charlie's Angels -- taking orders from a speaker box -- but, "We obviously don't look like Charlie's Angels."
The coordinators assumed Paterno would be in the coach's booth on Saturday and remarked that the coach seems just as lively as ever, although Bradley joked he couldn't envision Paterno in the football team's rehab room.
"No one will be hurt anymore. No one else will be rehabbing because they won't want to be there with him," Bradley said, smiling. "I think you guys know Joe, and patience hasn't ever been one of his virtues. When I talked to him on Monday, he said, 'You know, I still can't put any weight on my leg.' "
Paterno's left leg won't be able to support weight for at least six weeks, and Sebastianelli said there is a "very, very low probability" the joint will return to 100 percent.
If Paterno hadn't undergone surgery, though, his leg likely would've become deformed, the ligaments loose, and joint replacement surgery needed. As it is, Sebastianelli found the injury non-career threatening -- and also found another interesting tidbit during his examination.
Apparently, Paterno has been coaching the last month with those three cracked ribs. That injury occurred during practice when tight end Andrew Quarless smacked into the coach in the end zone. The 41-year head coach simply dusted himself off, got up without any help and didn't miss a second.
Through this week's health tests, hospital sheets and surgery, Paterno hasn't complained once. And that's something wideout Deon Butler found pretty inspiring.
"Guys at our age are in the peak of our athletic strength [and] couldn't do some of the things that he's doing at his age," Butler said. "So just to have a coach that's willing to fight like that and not complain one bit about it -- it just makes it hard for us as players when we go out and get tired, we just think about: Here's Coach Paterno as old as he is. And he's still going to hang in there tough and not complain about it. What gives us the right to?"
