IRVING, Texas — "Dr. Jerry Jones'' is admitting he made the wrong diagnosis on the projected hip-to-finger bone graft for Dallas Cowboys standout receiver Dez Bryant.
"Nobody touching my hip,'' Bryant said Sunday after the Cowboys' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game win which he played despite early week concern that his fractured finger might end his season. "I'm telling you right now, you can get a piece of bone from somebody else. You're not touching my hip."
And it turns out, Dez is right.
"Dr. Jones has many medical degrees,'' Jones told Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan on Wednesday, poking fun at his misdiagnosis. "I misunderstood what the doctors told me.''
Jones was informed that a bone graft could be performed using a piece of Bryant's "hand.'' The owner said his misheard "hand'' as "hip.'' He also cited the recent surgery on Cowboys defensive back Orlando Scandrick, who underwent a bone graft procedure that included the use of a piece of bone from his hand.
What the owner said Sunday:
"Dez is going to have to have, more than likely, bone taken off of his hip and put into that index finger joint. This is a fracture, but it's not a ligament, so make no mistake about it, he has an injury and he has a serious injury relative to his hand. He's certainly playing with some risk, but he was inspirational out there."
"Dr. Jones'' is wrong about the surgery but correct about the inspiration. Bryant had four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown Sunday and is a centerpiece of the Cowboys' push to a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East.
