by TACOMA, Wash. – The lonely sound of crutches clicking against the cold floor of the Tacoma Dome echoed through the hallway on Sunday afternoon.
Cody Jesus (Navajo) then let out a sigh as he took a break to catch his breath and rest.
The leading Rookie of the Year contender could not put much weight at all on his left leg, and his personal pride was in just as much pain as his body.
Jesus missed the final day of the Tacoma Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, because of a left groin strain he sustained attempting to ride Short Pop.
“It sucks,” Jesus said. “I never turned out of a bull riding since I started riding because of an injury. To be packing up my shit when everybody is getting ready just sucks.”
Jesus said that Dr. Tandy Freeman informed him that he is likely going to be out for six weeks. He will first undergo an MRI this week to determine the severity of his injury.
“It is to the point where I try to walk and my leg just won’t move,” he said. “I can deal with the pain pretty good, but every time I step on it, just like my leg won’t hold myself up. It is tough.
“My groin is pulled or torn or something. Tandy wants me to get an MRI to see what is really wrong with it. I am going to get that done. I will call Tandy and he is going to send me a referral for physical therapy so I can start doing that close to the house.”
Not only is Jesus leading the Rookie of the Year race, but the Window Rock, Arizona, bull rider is also ranked seventh in the world standings and is contention for the 2019 World Championship.
Jesus trails No. 1 Chase Outlaw by 1,179.17 points.
The 20-year-old believes he first injured his groin last weekend at the Caterpillar Classic in Kansas City, Missouri, when he was bucked off by Big Black in 7.98 seconds.
Jesus came back to ride Rising Sun for 90 points the next day, but he knew something was wrong.
The rookie did not want to complain about the injury, though, and he figured he would be fine come Tacoma.
“I felt it last week,” Jesus said. “When I spurred that Big Black, I started feeling something, and it really started to aggravate me after I got off that Rising Sun. I got off in the short round and I didn’t want to say anything. I thought it would heal in the week, but some things don’t work like that.”
Jesus immediately felt pain in his groin by the time he left the bucking chute Saturday night in Tacoma, lasting barely 1.97 seconds on Short Pop.
He is the first rookie sent to the sidelines with a significant injury this season.
Jesus leads No. 2 rookie Lucas Divino by 198.33 points.
Meanwhile, Joe Frost’s second-place performance in Tacoma has him officially in contention for the 2019 PBR Rookie of the Year award. He is the No. 5 rookie, but he is only 405.83 points behind Jesus.
Ezekiel Mitchell – the No. 3 rookie in the race – trimmed Jesus’ lead on him to 301.67 points following his 87.25-point ride on Speed Demon in the championship round.
Jesus does not believe he will need surgery, and he is hopeful he can come back sooner rather than later.
If he ends up having to miss six weeks, he would be out for three Unleash The Beast events (Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Billings, Montana; Columbus, Ohio).
There is a possibility he would be able to ride at the Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 17-19.
“I don’t think I need surgery,” Jesus said. “I think I can just rehab it. Hopefully everything goes well and I will be back a little sooner if it gets to feeling better.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
