Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt has revealed that he will continue to wear a brace on his left elbow for at least another season.

Watt was forced to wear the brace for the whole of last campaign after injuring his elbow in a pre-season training camp, but still managed to make a franchise-record 20.5 sacks.

The 24-year-old admits that he is not a fan of how the brace looks, but wants to be sensible with the injury and minimise any risk of aggravating it.

"Cosmetically, I'm just not a huge fan of the way it looks but it never really bothered me from a playing standpoint so I don't see it being an issue whatsoever. It's just something I have to play with and that's it," Watt told reporters.

"I just want to be smart with it. I put [my left elbow] through a lot of work over the last week.

"It's done a lot of work without the brace for the first time in a long time, so I'm bringing the brace back just as kind of a security measure, you know, to make sure it stays secure and it stays safe."

Watt was selected as the AFC Defensive Player of the Year last season.