It's been about six hours since news broke that Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel had an appendectomy. In that time we haven't come any closer to developing some sort of consensus on how much time he may miss, if any.
As we said earlier, it's important to keep in mind that some people may recover from something like this quicker or slower than others. In other words, none of this is set in stone and we're all guessing.
Today we've heard from various doctors in the media with examples and predictions of how long Cassel may miss. Many are predicting 1-2 weeks, including Adam Teicher of the KC Star who says it's likely Cassel misses at least two weeks. Others have suggested up to four weeks, depending on the circumstances.
However there are some indications that Sunday in San Diego isn't ruled out.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Chiefs feel there's a 50-50 chance he could play. Also on the miss-no-time train was Dr. Matthew Lublin, General Suregon at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. Lublin talked with the guys on NFL Network and said, "If he feels like he's OK I really don't see a reason he could not play [on Sunday]."
"When you have surgery, you're really not recovering from what's done on the inside," Lublin said," you're really recovering from your scars. When you do laparoscopic surgery like I'm sure he had, he has three tiny incisions. It's a very quick recovery. As long as he's feeling OK I think he'd probably be ready to go."
This is a good time to remember that everyone's going to recover differently. Of the doctors we've heard from, Lublin was the most optimistic about potentially recovering enough to play in just four days.
"What I tell my patients after I do this surgery, I don't put any restrictions on them. They're not going to pop, or burst or break anything. It's really how they feel and as long as they feel OK and don't have a lot of pain they can go back to doing whatever they want as soon as they want."
So we've heard anywhere from not missing any time to being out for a month. Translation: We have no idea.
The next key date to remember is Friday when the Chiefs turn in their final injury report. Questionable means there's a chance and doubtful/out means he probably won't be playing.