After Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith went down with a catastrophic leg injury in November of 2018, it appeared that his NFL career had ended with a jarring thud. However, nearly two years, countless surgeries, and one military doctor calling the injury a “war wound,” Smith has officially been cleared to participate in football activity once again.
According to an ESPN report, Smith told the site that he is currently undergoing testing for coronavirus and that he expects to report to Washington’s facility next week to undergo a team physical. The team will have to clear him in order for Smith to return to the field; so far, the only clearance he has received is from his surgical team, who handled his recovery.
In speaking about the clearance, Smith admitted that he didn’t think he would ever hear his doctors say that he could play again:
To hear them say that, from a life standpoint, they wouldn’t restrict me from doing anything — I could go skiing or snowboarding tomorrow if I wanted — then on top of that, to get the green light that I could practice, get contact, that I had healed up, that much was pretty wild to hear. I didn’t know if I would ever hear those words.
This latest development doesn’t mean that Smith will be the starting quarterback for Washington anytime soon. The next step will be to participate in practice and see how his right leg holds up in regular football activity. Given where he was after the injury, though, even that is a massive breakthrough for the 36-year-old quarterback.
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