When on the field, Arian Foster is one of the most productive running backs in the NFL. The 28-year-old veteran is averaging nearly 100 total yards per game during his six-year NFL career. 

However, there have been some major injury concerns with him in recent years. Foster suffered a groin injury back in November of last year—an injury that cost him three games. He also missed eight games during the 2013 campaign due to a back injury. 

Now comes this news from Houston Texans camp: 

Arian Foster suffered a groin injury last night at the #Texans first fully padded practice, sources say.

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) August 4, 2015

Groin injuries are a heck of a thing for running backs to deal with. Considering Foster is less than a year removed from missing time due to his groin issues, this is a really bad sign. The fact that it happened in the Texans' first fully padded practice of training camp only magnifies that further. 

Then we have this: 

This is a significant injury for Arian Foster. Can confirm, as @jaysonbraddock said, there's concern it will require groin surgery. #Texans

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) August 4, 2015

If Foster's injury requires surgery, it's highly unlikely he will even sniff the field early in the regular season. This could be a huge blow to a Texans' offense that's already without wide receiver Andre Johnson, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts after being cut back in March. With Brian Hoyer likely getting the starting nod under center, he needed to have a healthy Foster to put up an even average performance at quarterback. 

Fantasy Slant

Foster's current ADP has him as the seventh overall player off the board, ahead of Matt Forte, DeMarco Murray and LeSean McCoy. Based solely on this news, and previous injury concerns, that has to be a tough sell. Heck, Jeremy Hill, with an ADP at 20, might even make more sense as a true RB1 option. 

Considering ground injuries can nag a player throughout the season, it's also important to look at who might get touches if Foster isn't 100 percent ready to go when the regular season comes calling in September. Alfred Blue filled in for Foster last year, tallying 528 rushing yards and a 3.1 average. He might be worth a late-round pick as insurance if you are still planning on drafting Foster. He could even act as a potential handcuff, even if Foster is ready to go by Week 1. 

An ultimate sleeper here might by Chris Polk, who came over from the Philadelphia Eagles this past offseason. You probably should monitor his touches in the preseason and potentially enter a waiver claim depending on how his role is trending heading into September.