Unlike NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy’s faux pas during the pregame to Sunday Night Football’s slip-up, there is no silver lining to the gruesome Dak Prescott injury which occurred in Sunday’s 37-34 last-second victory over the New York Giants. Dungy cleared up his comments, apologizing for misspeaking, but there’s little joy in Mudville at the moment for the Dallas Cowboys or their fans.
Teammates raced from all corners of the opposite sideline to make sure they got a chance to give in-person support for their fearless leader, who to this point in his career had never missed a start. Through all the big hits and collisions, sacks behind at-time porous offensive lines and it all, Prescott had started all 69 games of his career. Now he’ll have to perform the first rehab of his career to get back onto the field. That journey began Sunday night as he underwent surgery on a compound fracture of his right ankle and dislocation. The bone broke through the skin, so washing out the wound and setting the bone quickly was paramount. According to reports, the surgery went well and Prescott is expected to be released from the hospiral later Monday.
Cowboys announce that Dak Prescott’s surgery was successfully completed last night, and he is expected to be released from the hospital today.
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 12, 2020
The fear is that Prescott will be out for the remainder of the season. There are exactly 12 weeks remaining in the regular schedule, three months absence.
Could there be a best-case scenario that Prescott is able to heal quicker than anticipated and return before the playoffs begin? That hinges on a lot, including exactly how clean the break was and the amount of ligament and possible nerve damage that was endured.
Sources confirm Dak Prescott’s surgery is complete. Dr. Gene Curry of the Carrell Clinic performed the procedure.
Expertise is foot & ankle injuries in elite athletes. Uses advanced techniques in ankle ligament reconstruction to minimize immobilization & inactivity period.
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) October 12, 2020
Different players heal at different schedules from going under the knife, and young, uber athletic specimens like Prescott, 27, often have a much better chance at a speedy recovery than less mobile players who have taken more hits over the course of their careers.
This is all conjecture, of course. No official word has been given that Prescott is done for the year, only that it’s expected he’s done for the year. It’s probably all wishful thinking that he could make it back this season, but there are few players with the intestinal fortitude of Prescott.
After essentially being told the Cowboys didn’t think he was worth what the player thought he was worth, Prescott went out there and was on pace to absolutely shred the league passing yard record for a single season.
Whether it’s the end of this season or next, and the business side of football has kept the location of next season an open-ended question thanks to him being on the franchise tag for 2020, Prescott’s next chapter will be a comeback story.