Brian Cushing Injury: LB to have ACL surgery Thursday

Forced out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing will have surgery on his torn anterior cruciate ligament on Thursday according to Nick Scurfield of HoustonTexans.com.

Cushing will have the surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews, a man routinely referred to as the most respected orthopedic surgeon in sports. Injured back on Oct. 7 on a low block by an opposing offensive lineman, Cushing was forced to wait until the significant amount of swelling in his left knee went down before going under the knife and furthering his recovery.

Though ACL injuries usually take roughly eight to 10 months to heal in most cases, the 25-year-old Cushing is a rare physical specimen even by NFL standards and could work tirelessly to get back in playing shape in a smaller window. Houston's leading tackler at the time of the injury, Cushing's loss will force a number of other players to step up at the position in the coming weeks, a scenario that veteran linebacker Bradie James believes will come to fruition.

"Now you just try to pick up where he left off," James told Tania Ganguli of the Houston Chronicle. "The only way we can do that is by committee and I think we have enough players to really do that."