NFL teams
Tania Ganguli, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Arian Foster cleared to return

NFL, Houston Texans

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster returned to Twitter on Saturday night and included in his tweets a declaration that his doctor had medically cleared him to play.

Foster worked through several injuries during the 2013 season, a back injury finally finishing his year. He had surgery in November, playing his final game of the season in Week 8 in Kansas City. Foster tweaked his back on a passing down early in that game, which led to then-Texans backup running back Ben Tate finishing the game despite breaking his ribs.  Tate left the Texans on Saturday, agreeing to a deal with the Cleveland Browns.

He began the 2013 preseason with a calf strain that caused him to start training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Once his calf healed, a back injury surfaced that kept him out of practices. He was ready for the start of the regular season, but saw his carries limited as the staff worked him back into his rotation. Foster finished the season with 542 yards on 121 carries and one touchdown.

Foster saw several specialists in hopes to avoid surgery, but ultimately had it to fix a lumbar spinal issue. Dr. Robert Watkins performed the surgery in California last November.

Foster took a hiatus from Twitter on March 4, 2013, sending his last tweet at 4:14 a.m. that day. But he remained on Facebook and Instagram, posting a video of himself doing a back flip on Feb. 8.

He returned to Twitter on Sunday, where he once posted a photograph of an MRI much to the chagrin of his then-coach Gary Kubiak, with a reply to his mother who demanded he resume his Tweets. Foster replied, "no," and interacted with fans until early Sunday morning.

^ Back to Top ^