Report: Terrell Owens is in Korea for stem cell treatment

Yahoo! Sports

Tue Sep 20 12:05pm EDT

Report: Terrell Owens is in Korea for stem cell treatment

Report: Terrell Owens is in Korea for stem cell treatment Back in the day, an NFL player would tear up his knee and say, "Ah, I'll just rub some dirt on it and go play." We've evolved past that now. We're at least to the point where a guy will insist on rubbing some Korean dirt on it before going back out and playing.

Terrell Owens is in Korea right now, according to the Korea Times, looking for a stem cell treatment he couldn't get here in the states. Owens tore his ACL a couple of months ago, and I guess it's not healing as fast as he wants it to. Take it away, Korea Times:

Terrell Owens (notes), one of the NFL's most celebrated players, is in Korea to undergo treatment for a knee injury at a local hospital on a three-day visit from Sunday.

The wide receiver, now a free agent, will also have stem cells collected as part of the treatment, Lee Jung-no, doctor and president of the Chaum Anti-Aging center, said in a phone interview Monday.

"Mr. Owens starts with therapy Monday followed by the collecting and storing of his stem cells the next day," Lee said.

Owens has always had a thing for non-traditional remedies, as he guzzled Tahitian Noni juice and credited it with getting him ready to play in Super Bowl XXXIX. He's always been a fast healer and kept himself in ridiculous physical condition, so if he believes Korean stem cells are the way to go, I'm in no position to question it. He's not the only one going this route, either. Peyton Manning tried something similar, too.

Owens clearly wants back in the NFL very badly. Perhaps this is the reason. But I'm just not convinced that, even with a healthy knee, that someone's going to give him a call. The perception is that there's just too much baggage with him. A young, rebuilding team would rather look at its young guys. An established, contending team isn't going to risk its team chemistry. His chances are better than Jeff George's, but with a knee that isn't healing, I'm skeptical.

But I wish him the best. Take good care of him, Korean health care system.