Clowney leaves game after suffering another injury

Jadeveon Clowney didn’t finish Sunday’s game in Houston, continuing a troubling trend in the NFL career of the former South Carolina star.

Clowney, a Houston linebacker, left the game in the first half because of a back injury and didn’t play in the second half. He missed 12 of 16 games last year during his rookie season because of a knee injury and already had missed a game this season because of an injury.

“He’s had some unlucky injuries,” Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said after the game. “There’s no question about that. I don’t think you can determine a career on a year and a half. I think that this guy’s got a lot of football left in him.”

Clowney didn’t speak to the media after the game and was not seen in the team’s locker room during the 45 minutes it was open after the game. He was credited with one tackle before leaving the game.

“When he has played, he’s played very well,” O’Brien said. “Even today, he was disruptive today before he was injured. Injuries happen. Hopefully, they’re things that have happened in clusters in the beginning of his career, and he’ll be able to recover from them and be a great player here for us in Houston, but I don’t think you can determine that on a short body of work like a year and a half.”

Clowney has 21 tackles and one sack this season. He had the best game of his NFL career last week, notching a career-high eight tackles and one sack.

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Clowney leaves game after suffering another injury."