San Francisco 49ers left tackle Joe Staley remained overnight in Philadelphia after suffering an orbital fracture around his right eye.

A hit during an interception return left Staley with blood streaming down his face from a cut.

#JoeStaley @49ers announced as orbital fracture. Unusual in football with facemask. More common in hockey, rugby, even basketball. pic.twitter.com/gyulBFI438 — David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) October 30, 2017

The injury also prevented him from returning to play and will likely keep him out at least one week.


It is unusual to have an orbital fracture in football. Even though it is a collision sport, other contact sports have much higher rates of facial fractures. With the football helmet – particularly the facemask – it is difficult to have something penetrate the headgear to cause eye socket injury.

Rugby, hockey, basketball and even baseball have higher rates of orbital fracture for this reason. While the helmet that prevents concussion has not yet been (and may never be) created, helmets are great at preventing skull and facial fractures.

The urgency created by an orbital fracture is concern the floor of the eye socket is depressed, which could entrap a nerve that helps move the eye.

By the sound of it, no surgery will be needed for Staley and his stay at a Philadelphia hospital was precautionary.


So the good news is the eye itself is not injured here, just the bone around it.

The injury happened during an interception return, which is one of the more dangerous plays in football.

While some 49ers players said the injury was the result of a “cheap shot,” there was no close-up camera view of the injury on the broadcast. The league will certainly review video to determine any disciplinary action.

Perhaps it was a fluke play, but the protection against facial fractures afforded by a helmet makes it curious.


As for Staley’s return, swelling needs to subside. It would not be unheard of for him to return to play in two weeks with a more substantial facemask and eye shield on his helmet.

There is precedence in other sports for players returning to play relatively quickly with a custom “Phantom of the Opera” style facial protection.

Given the 49ers’ 0-8 record, if there are any safety issues lingering, it would not be a surprise to see Staley held out longer and even for IR to be considered.

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