Arizona Cardinals’ star defensive back JJ Watt says he’s playing in Arizona’s game against the Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon, something you might expect to hear from a player eager to help his team win after getting sidelined with injury. But this wasn’t just any injury Watt suffered last week, as the Associated Press reported.

Cardinals star J.J. Watt says he had his heart shocked into rhythm after going into atrial fibrillation this week, and he still plans to play Sunday against the Panthers.https://t.co/iSPbzZJxcu

— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) October 2, 2022

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt says he had his heart shocked into rhythm after going into atrial fibrillation this week, and he still plans to play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

…

The Cardinals reported Watt did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday and was limited on Friday. He was listed as questionable due to a calf injury and an illness.

It appears the NFL player wasn’t too pleased “somebody leaked some personal information about [him]” to the media, and decided to get ahead of the story Sunday, writing on his Twitter account:

I was just told somebody leaked some personal information about me and it’s going to be reported on today.

I went into A-Fib on Wednesday, had my heart shocked back into rhythm on Thursday and I’m playing today.

That’s it.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 2, 2022

Watt’s tweet continues:

I went into A-Fib on Wednesday, had my heart shocked back into rhythm on Thursday and I’m playing today. That’s it.

The 33-year-old player just returned to the Cardinals’ lineup a week ago– in his first start of the season. Watt has been been out due to different injuries, but that wasn’t just on the former Houston Texan’s new team, according to a piece by USA Today sports reporter Chris Bumbaca:

Watt’s body has not been kind to him in recent years. An arm injury cost him 10 games in 2021, his first in Arizona. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year missed half of the 2019 season with a torn pectoral muscle, and he played eight games between 2016 and 2017.

We wrote this past week about the injury Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered during Thursday night’s game, with a follow-up from my colleague Bob Hoge, who shared Saturday that repercussions are still emerging from the incident, including the potential change to concussion protocols in the NFL. You have to wonder if the poor judgment on how that unrelated injury was handled will affect Watt’s inclusion today.

Tune in at 4 p.m. EDT Sunday to see if Watt gets his wish and is on the defensive line for the Cardinals.