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Cowboys announce Tony Romo has broken bone in back

When Tony Romo left the Dallas Cowboys’ preseason game with the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night after sliding awkwardly, getting crunched by Cliff Avril and then grabbing at his back, the team said the veteran quarterback was not allowed to return to the game on the coaches’ decision.

Turns out, it was a probably a very smart decision.

Tony Romo tackled by Cliff Avril (AP)
Seattle’s Cliff Avril delivered a painful tackle to Dallas’ Tony Romo. (AP)

Dallas coach Jason Garrett announced on Saturday that Romo suffered a broken bone in his back. Dak Prescott will start Week 1 against the New York Giants, the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore reported:

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Romo apparently didn’t feel well when he woke up Friday morning; his back had stiffened. That led to the decision to have him get an MRI. The test revealed the broken bone.

Tony is obviously disappointed. He’s the ultimate competitor,” Garrett told reporters.

Broken bones generally have a six-week minimum recovery time, and ProFootballTalk reported that Romo is looking at 6-to-10 weeks before he can return.

ESPN’s Todd Archer tweeted that Romo suffered a compression fracture of his L1 vertebrae, the L1 is in the lower third of the spine, approximately even with the lowest rib.

Prescott has created a ton of buzz with his performance thus far this preseason, completing 39 of 50 passes for 454 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, including a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Miami Dolphins last week. He also rushed for two touchdowns against Miami.