HOUSTON -- Texans quarterback Matt Schaub hopes he can return this season from a foot injury, though he acknowledges "it doesn't look good."
Schaub hurt the Lisfranc joint in his right foot during the second quarter of Sunday's 37-9 win at Tampa Bay. He stayed in the game, but he threw just three passes in the second half.
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Texans coach Gary Kubiak called the injury "significant" Monday, and Schaub said Tuesday on his weekly radio appearance with KILT-AM that his foot "is not visibly looking too good." Schaub said he'll meet with more doctors over the next week.
"When you look at it, it's pretty colorful and everything," Schaub said. "It's pretty sore and beat up right now. But we're going to search out some other opinions and just do as much as we can to get it right here in the near future to see what can happen."
Schaub said the injury occurred when his foot was caught underneath Bucs defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth on a quarterback sneak when the Texans were backed up near their own goal line.
"I didn't really know how bad it was," Schaub said.
Kubiak said the Texans will determine by next week if Schaub would return this season. If doctors tell him that surgery is necessary, Schaub said he'll "probably" be out for the rest of the season. But he's hoping to find other courses of treatment that would speed his recovery.
"I'm not one to give in to something like this that easily," said Schaub, who has started every game for Houston since the 2009 season. "It doesn't look good. My foot is pretty much the size of a cinder block right now."
One certainty, Schaub said, is that doctors have told him he can play again.
"It's not career-ending," Schaub said. "No way."
The AFC South-leading Texans (7-3) have a bye week before their final six regular-season games. Matt Leinart will step into Schaub's role and make his first start since 2009 in Houston's next game, Nov. 27 at Jacksonville.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
