Jason Taylor could’ve wound up paralyzed from injury.

A Washington Redskins star is recovering from surgery last week that may have prevented his death if an injury went untreated. Defensive end and former “Dancing with the Stars” competitor Jason Taylor evidently took a hit in the ‘skins 24-17 win over Arizona last week, but he didn’t know that blood had collected near his ankle. The condition, known as compartment syndrome, left an odd feeling in his leg, but Taylor says he was frightened when he was rushed into surgery. “I was a little scared about that and didn’t quite understand why it had to be done so suddenly,” Taylor recalls. “I kept telling the doctor, ‘Let’s wait until the sun comes up and let me talk to some people,’ and they kept stressing how important it was to get it done right away.” A 20-minute operation to drain the blood was successful and may have prevented possible paralysis, or even death, experts say. Taylor sat out Sunday’s game versus Dallas and is expected to play soon.