AUSTIN, Texas – Shorty Gorham was just as confused as those that witnessed him dislocate his left foot on Friday night at the Frank Erwin Center.
“I guess this is what happens when you are 40,” Gorham said before grimacing in pain. “I guess I am getting old.”
Gorham is not sure how it happened, but his foot certainly looked gnarly as he was assisted to the PBR sports medicine room.
The Matador Jerky Bullfighter felt a jolt of pain when he went to leap onto the back of the bucking chutes to avoid a charging Big Benny after the bull had bucked off J.B. Mauney during Round 1 of the WinStar World Casino & Resort Invitational.
Gorham said he will get an X-ray, and possibly an MRI, to determine the extent and severity of his injury.
The Cotulla, Texas, resident had injured his right foot earlier this year in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Cody Webster will be taking Gorham’s spot in Austin on Saturday. Webster worked the Real Time Rain Relief Velocity Tour event in Huntington, West Virginia, on Friday night.
Webster has a 7:30 a.m. flight on Saturday that gets him to Austin by 1:40 p.m.
Fans can watch the conclusion of Round 2 on RidePass beginning at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday night or on CBS Sports Network Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Gorham’s injury forced fellow bullfighters Jesse Byrne and Frank Newsom to protect the rest of the cowboys on Friday night as a two-man team.
RELATED: Newsom excited to return in Austin
The duo did not miss one beat either.
“We just have to change up our positioning obviously with a little bit more ground to cover with just two of us instead of three,” Byrne said during intermission on RidePass. “So kind of taking it back to our roots. That is where we all started, doing this as a duo. It is definitely a little bit more work, but I feel pretty confident in Frank and I as a duo.”
Of course, Byrne rather have had Gorham out there on the dirt next to him.
“Shorty brings a lot to the table,” Byrne continued. “It is not like we are as effective without him, so it is a big gap to fill in. He is just so smooth with the way he operates. We are definitely missing it out there. We are very capable and we will just do what we can to get through tonight.”
Injury Updates
In other injury news, No. 3 Jose Vitor Leme is questionable for Round 2 after sustaining a concussion Friday night. Leme was bucked off by Crazy Cat in 2.05 seconds.
Nathan Burtenshaw did not compete on Friday night after failing to pass the PBR’s concussion protocol due to his concussion from last weekend in Fairfax, Virginia.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko