A tense Monday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals included a slew of hard hits, many of them illegal, that continued to have ramifications into Tuesday. Most prominent was the hospitalization of Ryan Shazier, a star linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers who sustained a spinal injury; two other players were suspended by the N.F.L. for their actions during the game.

The paramount concern for the Steelers was the medical status of Shazier, who injured his back making a tackle. The play immediately spurred fears that he might have been paralyzed as he initially appeared to be limited in his movements from the waist down.

The extent of Shazier’s injury has yet to be announced, but the initial updates from the team seemed optimistic about a potential recovery.

“Ryan’s injury will not require surgery at this time, and he continues to improve,” Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement released shortly after the game. “He will stay overnight to continue evaluations with the hopes of returning to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.”