Hines Ward has officially been ruled out by the Steelers for Sunday’s game against the Patriots.
Ward’s missing the game with an ankle injury will come as no real surprise to anyone—he’s not been expected to play all week. Also missing the game will be linebacker James Farrior, who was limited in his participation in practice for much of the week.
Ward’s ankle injury occurred last week in the third quarter of the Steelers’ 32-20 win over the Cardinals. The wide receiver had to be carted off the field. So far, the Steelers have managed just fine without much production from Ward, who has managed more than three receptions just once so far this season. Mike Wallace has more than made up for it so far, putting up over 700 yards of offense including 11 receptions of at least 20 yards. Last week he came up with 118 against the Cardinals.