JJ Watt has said he is looking forward to a "full healthy season" after admitting that he played with torn ligament in his arm in 2012.

The defensive player of the year wore an arm brace throughout last season, having dislocated his elbow during a pre-season training camp.

The Houston Texans defensive end told the team's website: "In the beginning, it definitely affected me. All the ligaments in there were torn, they were all gone, so they had to have time to recover and regroup. So obviously, I wasn't at full strength.

"The brace helped a lot, but it was more of a mental thing, getting over the thought process of knowing that it was injured and making sure that I could still have confidence in it. But [I'm] looking forward to a 100% full healthy season."

Despite the injury, Watt made 81 tackles and 20.5 sacks.