Dallas Cowboys: Cowboys move Travis Frederick into injured reserve to allow David Irving to return

Travis Frederick, who has only partial sensations in his hands and feet, was placed in the injured reserve to make way for David Irving on the active players list, a source said.

The Pro Bowl center has not played this season after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease that weakens muscles and attacks the peripheral nervous system. The move means that Frederic will not be eligible for the next eight games, but may return for the last three regular season games if he is cleared by the doctors.

Irving, meanwhile, will take the pitch for the Cowboys for the first time in 11 months.

The defensive tackle has missed the last four games of the 2017 season due to a concussion and first four games this season for violation of the NFL's policy on substance abuse. Irving missed the majority of the team's off-season program while he was stuck in a dispute over his ex-girlfriend's custody over their 5-year-old daughter.

Irving and the Cowboys agreed that it would be best if he did not attend the training camp to continue to address his personal problems and focus on his aftercare program. He returned to The Star several weeks ago to work on conditioning and attend meetings. He performed his first training session on Wednesday and then missed the next two days for personal reasons.

Despite everything, the Cowboys were injured at both inside tack positions and the club decided that Irving was needed for Sunday's game against Houston. He should get a minimum of 10 to 15 shots when rotating the defensive line.

Frédéric's return from Guillain-Barré Syndrome is not a question of whether. That's when. The Pro Bowl Center and its doctors rely on statistics showing that 95 to 100% of people with this disorder benefit from a full recovery.

What puts Frederick and the organization in a bind, is that the calendar remains unknown.

"Yes, I think it's hard to judge a schedule at any time," Frederick said earlier this week. "When I talk to my doctors, they all talk about how they've made people become paralyzed back into functioning, and it's not very often that they see cases where they've gone from functional to become professional athletes again.

"We are in unexplored waters, so we continue to reevaluate and we are just trying to keep as much information as possible about it."

Frederick is in the weight room at The Star four times a week. He believes that in terms of strength, he is currently at the beginning of the off season program. He works an average of six days a week.

All this is encouraging. But Frederic still feels numbness in both hands and feet.

"It's slightly better," said Frederick about the sensation. "This has been a pretty steady improvement – it's a slow process, but it's stable."

There are points of reference that Frederick must reach from the point of view of strength and conditioning before the clock officially begins to mark his return. He said Thursday that he was not at the point of being able to test himself in these areas.

"My doctor is very pleased with the progress that has been made," said Frederick, "As far as the team is concerned, it's obviously disappointing not to be able to be back, but the fact that I'm progressing and we're talking about when I can come back rather than if I can come back is definitely a positive thing. & # 39;

Positive, but still problematic from the point of view of the Cowboys. The club has put him on the list of active players on the hope – not on conviction, but on hope – to be able to come back before the team before eight games of the season.

This hope is now gone.