Packers’ Christian Watson Briefly Hospitalized Before Making Wild Return to Game on Same Night

Christian Watson #9 of the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 29, 2026.Credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty; Kevin Sabitus/GettyNEED TO KNOWWatson returned after tests showed no additional issues beyond a broken ribThe receiver caught eight passes for 113 yards in Green Bay’s 27-19 win over CarolinaWatson said he watched the game’s play-by-play from a doctor’s phone at the hospitalChristian Watson made a comeback of all comebacks.On Thursday, Oct. 29, the Packers wide receiver, 27, stunningly returned to the field after a brief hospitalization for a chest injury during Green Bay’s eventual 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field.Watson went down in the first half after a deep, 53-yard pass by quarterback Jordan Love. He was slow to get up, but managed to exit the field.Christian Watson #9 of the Green Bay Packers is on the field with an injury during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 29, 2026.Credit: Patrick McDermott/GettyThe former second-round pick was then taken to a local hospital via ambulance around 8:30 p.m., while still wearing his full set of pads, according to ESPN. Watson returned to the stadium an hour later, with Prime Video cameras capturing the moment he exited the ambulance to rejoin his teammates.“I think I just came down on the ball or my elbow or something,” Watson told reporters after the game. “I couldn’t breathe on the field. I got the wind knocked out of me. I got back to the sideline, and I was kind of spitting up some blood or something like that.”View this post on InstagramHe added, “So the doctor said I had to go get a CT [scan]. I was trying to beg them to not make me do that.”After an X-ray showed a broken rib, Watson — who had been coughing up blood — underwent a CT scan and had blood tests. When those tests showed no additional issues, the wide receiver knew he wanted to continue playing that night.Christian Watson #9 of the Green Bay Packers runs with the ball during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 29, 2026.Credit: Kevin Sabitus/Getty“Before I even left [the hospital], I wanted to go back out there,” he said. “So I was going to make sure I was going to get back out there if they let me.”Watson reentered the game in the third quarter, when Love targeted him on a deep pass.Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!“It was super dramatic,” Watson told reporters afterward. “I used to watch WWE as a kid. 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. That was a little crazy.”Christian Watson #9 of the Green Bay Packers runs onto the field prior to an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 29, 2026.Credit: Kevin Sabitus/GettyWatson finished Thursday’s game with eight receptions on 10 targets for 113 yards.The North Dakota State product, who kept up with Thursday’s game from the hospital by watching the play-by-play from a doctor’s phone, has tallied 708 receiving yards and six touchdowns this season.The Packers hold a 5–3 record this season and are currently fourth in a stacked NFC North division behind the Minnesota Vikings (6-0), the Chicago Bears (5-2) and the Detroit Lions (4-2).They’ll visit the New England Patriots next on Sunday, Nov. 8.Read the original article on People