Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez to play on Sunday, less than 3 weeks after tumor was removed



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INDIANAPOLIS – Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez has gone from not knowing his future in the NFL to days away from playing again less than three weeks after having a cancerous tumor removed.

Sanchez will resume his row and kickoff duties in Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, coach Frank Reich said on Friday.

“Excellent training staff, working with excellent doctors and mature men,” said Reich. “These three things are all important, and we’re very lucky to have the people we do.”

Sanchez, who declined to say the type of cancer he was facing, noticed something was wrong with performing brisk movements before starting the practice on Nov. 25. An ultrasound and an MRI revealed a tumor. Sanchez still played, albeit only in a rowboat, in the Nov. 29 loss to Tennessee before undergoing surgery on Dec. 1.

“I wasn’t going to do this to my team,” Sanchez said earlier this week. “It all depends on the team. In the end, I don’t think they could have brought in a punter on time, and it wasn’t going to be worse. It was already the worst case. was going to fight with pain, whatever it was. “

Sanchez said doctors told him things looked “pretty good” and his “numbers were significantly lower”. He returned to the facility and practiced this week.

“I just get the chance to move all the time, to use my body in all kinds of ways,” Sanchez said. “It’s crazy because I think [Reich] mentioned saying that if I was doing some sort of office job maybe I wouldn’t have figured it out right away. I’m just lucky to be young and to be able to do what I do, and that’s playing football here. I just had the chance to catch it in time, and after that the doctors took the lead and I just followed. I’m just thankful they figured it out early on. “

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