HOUSTON -- Arian Foster has no doubt he'll play football again.
The Houston Texans running back is recovering from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon on his right leg. The 29-year-old has heard the speculation that such an injury might be a career-ender for a running back his age, but he's unfazed.
"Yeah I'll play again," he told The Associated Press. "I'm not the first one to come back from an Achilles tendon (injury)."
Foster has had a tough year, missing the first three games of the season after tearing a groin muscle in training camp. He returned on Oct. 4, but played just four games before his season ended on the non-contact injury to his Achilles tendon late in a blowout loss to Miami.
The undrafted free agent who became a four-time Pro Bowler has spent his entire seven-year career with the Texans and has one season remaining on a five-year contract.
Foster had surgery to repair the tear a couple of days after the injury on Oct. 25. His leg remains in a cast and he gets around on crutches, so he hasn't yet started rehabilitation.
"You have to wait for it to heal and then you start the recovery process," he said. "But yeah as soon as that happens we're going to hit the ground running."
The cast is scheduled to be removed on Monday and the man who led the NFL with 1,616 yards rushing in 2010 is looking forward to a simple task when that happens.
"I can't wait to walk again," he said before flashing a big smile.
---
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL