J.J. Watt, the two-time reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, underwent back surgery to repair a herniated disc.

And in the course of mere minutes on Thursday night, the Texans superstar’s prognosis got more and more dire.

Initial reports pegged him as able to return by the start of the season — in roughly seven weeks.

Then it became 6-to-8 weeks, per NFL Network, which surely would threaten his availability for Week 1 on Sept. 11.

Another NFL Network report finally cautioned Watt’s injury could take up to 10 weeks to heal, which could see him returning as late as Week 4 of the season (especially because the Texans have a Thursday night game in Week 3).

Of course, Watt has played through injury before, and never has missed a game in his career. In last year’s playoff game against the Chiefs, Watt had five partially or fully torn muscles in his torso, groin and upper legs. During the regular season, he played through broken hand and a herniated disk. Despite that, Watt still led the league with 17.5 sacks.