Safe to say, nobody is brave enough to occupy the parking spot reserved for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
His post-op return to team headquarters is only days away.
Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder and Mahomes are scheduled for their first rehab session on Friday, four days after his left knee ACL and LCL surgery Monday night in Dallas. Mahomes formally was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday.
“They usually wait on the ACLs,” Burkholder said in a media briefing Wednesday before practice. “After seeing the MRI, they said everything he had in this injury was fixable — it was correctable. And it was fixed Monday night by Dr. Cooper. He had no artery damage, no nerve damage, no joint surface damage, no meniscus damage. He’s already started rehab down in Dallas, he was there first thing Tuesday morning. He’ll do that through (Wednesday) and be back here Friday.
“As you know in the past with Patrick and his injuries, he attacks them. He does very well. He’s in that mode right now. I talked to him every day and I know coach (Andy Reid) has too. He’s already on it. He’ll return here Friday and for the majority of the rehab he’ll do it with me and my staff.”
Julie Frymyer, one of four assistant athletic trainers for the Chiefs, again will oversee Mahomes’ recovery. She was integral in rehabbing his high-profile toe and ankle injuries in the past.
Timeline has been the constant question fielded by the Chiefs since Mahomes was hurt Sunday. The short answer is, nobody knows when he’ll be back. History, however, provides some encouraging hints in Mahomes’ case.
“Every player is different. Every sport is different. Every position is different. Typically with him, he’s going after it so hard and he’s so in tune with what he does that he does it a little quicker,” Burkholder said. “Ballpark on this thing is nine months. It could be a month or two less, a month or two more. You never know what goes on and everybody is designed differently biomechanically.”
Burkholder said Mahomes is in a protective brace to promote healing post-surgery and the initial focus would be on building muscle and reducing swelling.
He said improved “techniques” in ACL surgeries and rehab could also lead Mahomes to beat the projected return time.
“As a player his mindset is a little different than most,” Burkholder said. “He’s so regimented in what he does. He in here at 6 a.m., he’s the last guy out at night. He’ll take the rehab like that. … When you add up all the little things, that allows the player to get back faster. They don’t heal up any faster, they just get back to performance faster.”
Mahomes passed for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season. He has won three Super Bowl titles with the Chiefs.
