Patrick Mahomes to Have Surgery to Repair Turf Toe on Wednesday — What's Next?
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is reportedly set to have surgery to repair a torn plantar plate in his left foot, also known as turf toe, which is expected to come with a several-month rehab process.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported that Mahomes would likely have surgery on Sunday morning, hours before the kickoff of Super Bowl LV. On Tuesday, Rapoport tweeted that Mahomes' surgery will come on Wednesday, performed by foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson.
Rapoport also noted that the turf toe was clearly bothering Mahomes in the Chiefs' Super Bowl LV loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"As well as Patrick Mahomes ran at times, it was clear his injury was significant," Rapoport tweeted. "He was not 100%. Kudos to Mahomes and the medical/athletic training staff for getting him ready, but he was very hobbled. Now, he’ll have it fully repaired."
Mahomes' offseason programs will now likely be impacted by a several-month rehab process, but Rapoport noted that Mahomes "should be good to go for the 2021 regular season."
What does Mahomes' surgery mean for the future, and what does it say about his past two games?
On Feb. 2, Mahomes said his foot was feeling "a lot better" and that it was "close to 100%," still several days out from the Super Bowl.
That may have been a bit of gamesmanship, genuine optimism, or something in between, but it certainly doesn't seem like it could have possibly been completely true. Even if the turf toe wasn't debilitating in the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LV, the decision to opt for surgery immediately after the year means that it was, of course, still limiting or bothering Mahomes in some way.
Looking ahead to the next few months, it's important to note that Rapoport doesn't express much concern for Mahomes' availability for the start of the 2021 regular season. It's also never a positive for a team's $500 million franchise quarterback to need surgery.
If all goes according to plan, this should be a minor footnote (pun not intended but absolutely acknowledged) on Mahomes' career and eventual 2021 season.
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