Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid kept things short and sweet when he was asked about the status of receiver Xavier Worthy after his team’s 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday.
“We’ll know tomorrow once we get back. We’ll do an MRI,” Reid told reporters, via KSHB’s Tod Palmer.
Worthy was injured on the Chiefs first drive of the game after inadvertently running into teammate Travis Kelce, who has six inches and 85 pounds on him, while trying to cross over the middle of the field.
The 22-year-old wideout logged one rush attempt for zero yards and recorded no catches on one target before exiting the game, and he was ruled out in the middle of the second quarter with a shoulder injury.
More NFL: Former Pro Bowl WR Shoots His Shot With Chiefs After Xavier Worthy Injury
More NFL: Teair Tart Avoided Ejection After Swinging on Travis Kelce — Here’s Why
While a more detailed update on Worthy’s status from the team is expected sometime on Saturday, medical doctor Deepak Chona, a sports surgeon and injury expert for Fantasy Pros who’s been featured on ESPN, NBC, and The Athletic, weighed in on what kind of timeline Worthy and the Chiefs might be looking at.
“The video suggests a dislocation,” Chona said. “The best-case is non-operative treatment [with an] average three weeks to return. But re-injury rate is very high at about 50%.
“Worst-case he has a large tear or fracture, and he shuts it down for surgery. That decision depends partly on the extent of damage, partly on personal risk tolerance. But he is young and on a rookie deal, that has to factor in.”
More NFL: 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Drops Major Christian McCaffrey Update Before Seahawks Game
Mild shoulder separations typically have a two-week recovery window, while moderate separations could sideline a player 2-4 weeks, and severe separations usually have a 6-12 week recovery period without surgery.
If Worthy’s injury does require surgery, he’s likely looking at a 4-6 month layoff with an extensive rehabilitation program, which would end his season and likely keep him from playing again this year, even if the Chiefs made it back to the Super Bowl.
More NFL: Lamar Jackson, Ravens Suffer Key Loss Before Week 1 Matchup vs Bills
Read the full article here
