Tsosie Doing Well Following Surgery

By Justin Felisko, PBR.COM

LAUGHLIN, Nev. – Guytin Tsosie is home recovering after undergoing successful surgery on his broken right leg (tibia and fibula mid-shaft) this week at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri.

Tsosie had to have a rod inserted into his right leg on Monday morning after Wicked stomped on him during the Built Ford Tough Championship Round of the PFIWestern.com Invitational at JQH Arena Sunday afternoon. He will be on crutches for the next six to eight weeks, and, according to Tsosie, he will be out of competition for three to six months.

After making sure the surgery went well, Tsosie eventually made it home to Burnham, New Mexico, early on Wednesday morning.

“I’m feeling OK,” Tsosie said. “I didn’t see where he stepped on it, but I know when I tried to get up I couldn’t. It just happened and it was painful.”

It is the same leg in which he fractured his right ankle disembarking a bull at a bull riding in 2012.

It’s a tough situation for the rookie bull rider after he used a Native American invite at the Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and turned it into three event exemptions, which he then used to earn a spot on the Built Ford Tough Series.

He is ranked 34th in the world standings and finishes his rookie season with a 28.57 percent riding average, one Top-5 finish and five Top-5’s.

On Saturday night, Tsosie had broken out of a 0-for-10 skid with an 88.5-point ride on Spotted Violet.

“I was hoping I would be 90,” he said with a laugh.

Tsosie still looks back at his 88.75-point performance on David’s Dreamas a “really special moment” this year and he continues to remain thankful for the opportunity that he succeeded with. He hopes to begin a rehab process in the near future with the ultimate goal of returning to the PBR in 2015.

“I am just thankful that I got as far as I did in the PBR,” he concluded. “I am going to do my best to get my way back into it.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko.