LINCOLN, Neb. – Mason Taylor stood outside the PBR Sports Medicine Room at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday morning with gauze in his ear as he still had some drainage associated with his broken jaw during Round 1 of the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational and a nice fat lip.
Taylor’s 1.12-second buckoff against Uncle Gangster and ensuing trauma that ensued when he was tossed over the frontend and headbutted was not at all the kind of momentum Taylor was looking for with the PBR World Finals a week-and-a-half away.
Regardless, Taylor, the No. 31 ranked bull rider in the world, is hopeful he will still be able to compete at the 2021 PBR World Finals on Nov. 3-7 at T-Mobile Arena. Taylor will meet with a specialist Tuesday in Dallas before likely undergoing surgery on Wednesday.
That would leave him with seven days to work on a diet plan that will help him still have enough strength to ride at the World Finals despite his jaw being wired shut.
“I will get wired up and get it to where all I can eat is milkshakes and be on that lean, mean diet,” Taylor said. “I just need to have a lot of protein shakes. I don’t know. We will see what the doc says Tuesday morning and get it fixed Wednesday. That was a pretty easy bull and I left there with all intentions of firing because he normally goes one or two out and he just decided to have a really good day that I should have won the round on and I let some simple things pull me down and he hit me in the face.”
ADDITIONAL INJURY UPDATES
U.S. Border Patrol bullfighter Frank Newsom sat out Championship Sunday because of a lower left leg injury after he was kicked by Black Ice in Round 1 on Saturday night. Newsom said he will get X-rays this week and meet with Dr. Tandy Freeman to determine the severity of his injury to determine if he will be able to cowboy protect at the World Finals.
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Rookie of the Year contender Chase Dougherty will need to undergo X-rays on his back after sustaining an injury inside the bucking chute during the championship round. Dougherty was unable to attempt to ride WSM’s Time In A Bottle and had to be helped to the sports medicine room after laying on the back of the bucking chutes for a minutes. Dougherty told PBR.com he would get X-rays this week in Dallas to determine the extent of his injuries.
Meanwhile, world No. 4 Joao Ricardo Vieira also sat out the competition on Sunday. According to Dr. Tandy Freeman, Vieira was ruled out with a pelvic contusion he sustained during his 2.31-second buckoff against Axel Surgeon in Round 1.
Vieira told PBR.com the injuries were minor and he expected to be ready to compete at the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals and PBR World Finals in Las Vegas.
Vieira is the lowest ranked rider in the world standings still mathematically alive in the 2021 World Championship race. He is 1,044 points behind No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media