Thanksgiving special for Roethlisberger with "Little Ben"

(Reuters) - Ailing two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger had a special reason to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday after his wife Ashley gave birth to their first child the previous evening.

Benjamin Jr. weighed 7 lbs. and 1 oz when he was born at 10:06 p.m. local on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback said on his official website (bigben7.com).

"Both mom and baby are doing well," said Roethlisberger, who has been sidelined for the past 10 days by a sprained shoulder and rib injury.

"We want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, it really means a lot to us. God is so good!"

Roethlisberger, popularly known as 'Big Ben', has not played since he sprained a joint in his right shoulder against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 12 when he was sacked by linebacker Justin Houston in the third quarter.

Pittsburgh have won an NFL-best six Super Bowl titles but their grip on a postseason berth could be in jeopardy depending on how long Roethlisberger is out of action.

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Mark Meadows)