Leading up to the 2023 Super Bowl, one of the biggest points of discussion has been the right ankle of Patrick Mahomes. During a playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 21, 2023, Mahomes, the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, awkwardly fell on his ankle after being tackled. Mahomes finished the game after trainers taped the ankle up, but after the game, news broke that he’d suffered a high ankle sprain.
As a surgeon who specializes in sport ankle injuries – and having myself sustained a similar injury while playing high school football – I cringed when I saw Mahomes go down during the game against the Jaguars. Ankle injuries are serious affairs. High ankle sprains are painful and can limit performance, but given the level of fitness of an NFL quarterback like Mahomes and the elite-level treatment and rehabilitation teams provide to help players recover, I expect he will be ready to play at Super Bowl kickoff and the injury will cause few if any problems during the game.
