NFL star breaks rib and coughs up blood before returning to game from ambulance in WWE-style move

Christian Watson stole the show during Thursday Night Football. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Carolina Panthers 27-19 in the primetime showdown , but Watson’s sensational return to action is what will be remembered the most. The Packers wide receiver left Lambeau Field mid-game to be transported to a local hospital after he was coughing up blood on a the sideline following an injury. This was sustained mid-way through the second quarter when, after a 53-yard deep ball from quarterback Jordan Love , he collided with Panthers cornerback Will Lee III as he fell to the turf. But in true WWE style – think Stone Cold Steve Austin in the 1999 Royal Rumble – Watson later returned to the 81,000-seat stadium, emerging out of the ambulance in full pads. And, with the diagnosis of a broken rib in hand, he marched right back onto the field in the third quarter. View Tweet: https://t.co/w9rKD7My25 Only this wasn’t a scripted trope like in WWE, this was hard as nails stuff. “I was spitting up some blood or something like that, so the doctor said I had to go get a CT,” Watson told the media after the game. “I was trying to beg him to not make me do that. I got a rib, that’s all, but the other stuff was good. No internal bleeding, nothing like that.” Watson showed his toughness in primetime The 27-year-old had no doubts in his mind that if he was cleared to continue playing in the game, he would. “Before I even left I wanted to get back out there,” he added. “This means everything to me, to be out there on the football field. “I’ve had injuries I was not able to go on the field for, and I’ve missed significant time due to injuries, so any chance I get to go out there on the football field, I’m going to be out there on the football field.” Watson further revealed that he himself felt he was watching WWE when he saw the cameras on him as he stepped out of the ambulance. “I felt like I was watching ‘WWE Smackdown vs. Raw’ or something, seeing the cameras on me when I was coming out of the ambulance,” he said. “That was a little crazy. It was a surreal experience, no doubt.” What is perhaps even more remarkable is that he finished the game making eight catches for 113 yards. Six of those receptions, totalling 100 yards, came before leaving for the hospital, while the other two catches (13 yards) came after. “If you can get up, you’ve got to get up,” Watson added. Nobody will ever question his toughness again, that’s for sure. Sign up for talkSPORT Stateside , the YouTube channel dedicated to passionate US Sports fans. Will Gavin, Brian T. Smith, former NFL star Efe Obada and a collection of special guests debate the biggest talking points across the NFL, soccer, NBA and more.