This week Big Ben has a sore thumb

The Pittsburgh quarterback is still hopeful of playing against the Bengals.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Another week, another injury for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger said Thursday his right thumb injury "is pretty painful," but he is hopeful it won't severely affect his throwing in Sunday's key AFC North game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The injury, not disclosed until Wednesday, follows injuries to both knees that kept Roethlisberger out of four games. Coach Bill Cowher also said Roethlisberger "tweaked" his ankle during a 26-7 loss to Indianapolis Monday night, but that injury was not listed on the team's first injury report of the week.
First reported Wednesday
That report, issued late Wednesday afternoon, was the first disclosure of any thumb injury. Neither Roethlisberger nor Cowher mentioned it following Monday's game.
Roethlisberger said the injury is painful enough that trainers designed a protective device so he could throw in practice.
"It's a little sore, but we're going to try and see if we can get by with it," said Roethlisberger, who is listed as probable. "A couple of contraptions hopefully will help it."
Asked how and when the injury occurred, Roethlisberger said, "I can't go into the extent of the injury, but it is pretty painful and it's not something that's fun to have."
Roethlisberger may have played in both Steelers playoff games last season with an injured thumb, although neither he nor the team confirmed it. However, TV cameras caught Roethlisberger clutching his thumb in visible pain, during a playoff game against the Jets in which he threw two interceptions.
Asked afterward about a thumb injury, Roethlisberger said, "I'm not going to make excuses."
Neither Roethlisberger nor the Steelers have said whether this latest injury is a reoccurrence of any problem Roethlisberger had last season, or is a new injury.
Just back from knee surgery
Roethlisberger, who is 18-2 as an NFL regular season starter, returned from a three-week layoff after knee surgery to go 17-of-26 for 133 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Colts, but could not lead any scoring drives in the second half.
Roethlisberger, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, had hoped to play the week before -- a 16-13 overtime loss in Baltimore -- but was not ready.
"You want to come back and bounce back as fast as you can and get back out there, and get into that comfort level that you had before the injury," he said. "But it took a little bit of time. It probably wasn't as fast as I wanted it to come back, and obviously it's tough going against that good of a defense."
Roethlisberger isn't the Steelers' only injury worry this week.
Other Steeler injuries
Left tackle Marvel Smith (ankle) is out, which means rookie Trai Essex will be responsible for protecting Roethlisberger's blind side as the left tackle. Essex was held out of the Steelers' first nine games before playing extensively the last two games.
Another rookie, Chris Kemoeatu, is working at both guard positions during practice despite not being activated for any game to date. Cowher said this week he is unhappy with the offensive line's play.
"It's tough when you've got so many guys dinged up," Roethlisberger said. "We have to find a way to rebound and bounce back. That's one thing this team can do, they can rebound after a tough loss. Hopefully, we'll come out and be very good this week."
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