Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez surprised everyone when he revealed doctors found a cancerous tumor that had to be removed, and he was overwhelmed with the support he received from all around.
The 26-year-old punter has been recovering from surgery since Dec. 1 but appears to be close to returning. He was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice for the first time since surgery and spoke with reporters for the first time as well.
He opened by saying how grateful he is for all of the support he has received throughout the entire process.
“It’s great to see everybody. I wanted to start off by saying that I’m just happy to be here talking to you guys,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “I want to start off by thanking the Irsay family, the Colts organization, Coach (Frank) Reich, (Chris) Ballard, the list goes on and on – the team, the Colts fan base, idols that texted me from around the league that are punters and kickers. It was unbelievable. My wife obviously was there throughout the whole process.”
It isn’t clear if Sanchez will be ready to play on Sunday against the Houston Texans, but he’s certainly on track to return much sooner than expected after undergoing the removal surgery.
Sanchez kept the nature of his cancer to himself as a personal request to the media, but continued to say how grateful he was for the support.
“I know you guys might be curious of what type of cancer I had, but I’m going to keep that personal if that’s OK with you guys. I’m just so thankful that they caught it early and it didn’t spread anywhere around my body,” Sanchez said. “I’m just so grateful for the doctors here in the Colts locker room and in Indiana as well. It’s incredible how things pan out sometimes. I could have gone to any other team and Indiana is like where it’s at for medicine. I’m just so grateful to be here with you guys and it’s amazing to be back.”
The Colts are getting their punter back as soon as Sunday—if not shortly after—as this incredible story continues to develop.
