Paterno could need surgery

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Joe Paterno isn’t going to let a broken leg keep him from coaching his team again.

The 79-year-old Penn State coach broke his left leg and damaged a knee ligament when two players ran into him during the Nittany Lions’ loss to Wisconsin, and team officials said Sunday that surgery was being considered.

Paterno’s son and quarterbacks coach, Jay, said he spoke with his father Sunday and there was “no thought whatsoever of not coming back this year. … It’s not even in the discussion. There’s nothing more to read into this in terms of his career.”

Paterno, who turns 80 next month, fractured the top of his tibia, or shin bone, on Saturday, according to team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli.

The injury typically heals on its own with rehabilitation, though doctors and team officials were considering whether surgery would help the leg heal faster, said Guido D’Elia, director of communications for football.

“He wants to make the quickest fix,” D’Elia said.

Paterno had some ligament damage to the left knee, though the extent was unknown, assistant athletic director Jeff Nelson said.

No determination had been made about whether Paterno could return to the sideline for the Temple game or monitor his team from the coach’s box above the stands.

Fans hoped for the best. A statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium had a bandage wrapped around his left leg, and one fan left a sign that read, “Get well soon JoePa, we love you!”