Minkah Fitzpatrick recently had emergency appendectomy surgery, but could he return to the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers sooner than expected?
Just hours before the Pittsburgh Steelers were set to kick off against the New Orleans Saints in Week 10, fans heard some unfortunate news. Minkah Fitzpatrick was forced to undergo emergency appendectomy surgery, and he would not be available to play. Luckily, Mike Tomlin’s crew was still able to pull off the victory in a must-win game.
Initial reports from ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicated that Fitzpatrick would miss multiple weeks after having this emergency surgery. However, the fans might not have to wait as long to see the All-Pro in action as we initially thought.
It hasn’t even been a full week since Fitzpatrick had an organ cut from his body, but he made it clear that, if it were up to him, he would have been out there against the Saints. Obviously, this was never a possibility, but recently, we’ve seen some encouraging signs.
Latest Injury Update for Minkah Fitzpatrick
Believe it or not, Minkah Fitzpatrick did participate in practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday after only doing cardio work by himself to begin the week, Brooke Pryor of ESPN reports. This was a bit unexpected, but not a complete surprise. In his Tuesday press conference, Mike Tomlin seemed to be very optimistic about his chances of playing.
That’s Minkah Fitzpatrick in No. 39 out at practice today. pic.twitter.com/05Yx9gZleY
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 17, 2022
Additionally, Steelers defensive coordinator, Teryl Austin, indicated to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly that Fizatrick doesn’t need the practice reps and that he would be ready to go if cleared.
Here’s another video from Pittsburgh Sports Now reporter, Brian Batko, showing Fiztparick going through drills.
Minkah Fitzpatrick going through individual drills today at the start of Steelers practice. Good sign for his availability after missing one game due to appendicitis. pic.twitter.com/YZr23VFt92
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) November 17, 2022
Obviously, we need to monitor practice tomorrow; however, it certainly appears that he has a chance to return to the football field a week sooner than most expected.
The Steelers have a pivotal divisional matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday. Fresh off surgery, I would have assumed that Minkah would have sat out one more game. But if he’s medically cleared, I would expect him to be out there with his teammates this Sunday.
So far, everything is looking about as promising as anyone could have envisioned. Barring a setback, it appears that Minkah Fitzpatrick is trending toward playing in this pivotal AFC North matchup against the Bengals in Week 11.