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Kansas City Chiefs vice president of sports medicine Rick Burkholder made a statement to the news media on Monday afternoon at the team’s practice facility — largely with regard to the dislocated patella (kneecap) Patrick Mahomes suffered while executing a quarterback sneak during the second quarter of the team’s 30-6 defeat of the Denver Broncos on Thursday.
Here’s the short version: the news is good, and Mahomes is already hard at work rehabilitating from the injury.
#Chiefs head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder addresses Patrick Mahomes and Kendall Fuller injuries. pic.twitter.com/zEJ8rJWnZI
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“You guys saw the game and the video,” Burkholder said. “Dr. Paul Schroeppel reduced the dislocated patella. We had X-rays at the game that came back negative. [We] did an MRI Friday here at the facility, and that turned out as good as we can possibly imagine.
“[Mahomes has] worked all weekend here,” he continued. “He’s done rehabilitation. [He] did extensive pool therapy here at the complex, has done some stuff in the athletic training room and is progressing nicely. As I’ve talked to you guys over the years here, every guy is different. Every injury is different. You saw that with Tyreek Hill — how we managed that — and we do this with all of our players, so we’ll manage Patrick accordingly. He’s right in the middle of the process.”
Burkholder took no questions and did not address a timeline for Mahomes’ return from the injury. Asked about it after Burkholder’s appearance, head coach Andy Reid said he didn’t think there was a set time for Mahomes’ return.
Burkholder also made a brief statement about the injury cornerback Kendall Fuller suffered in the game a week ago Sunday.
“Kendall Fuller fractured his right thumb against Houston. [He] didn’t play against Denver, and was operated on in Los Angeles on Friday by Dr. Shin. He returned back to Kansas City on Sunday and started rehabilitation.”
Burkholder was speaking of Dr. Steven Shin of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a highly regarded specialist in hand surgery who performed a procedure on New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees last month.