Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Hurts will miss the remainder of the NFL season after multiple blood clots were found in the quarterback’s lung.
NFL Network and ESPN said the discovery of several clots meant the quarterback would undergo treatment for at least three months, ending his season with the Eagles.
The Eagles had already announced that Hurts, who led Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last year, would miss at least a month after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf.
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The clot was discovered after the Eagles recently travelled to London for a game against Jacksonville as part of the NFL’s international series.
A statement issued jointly by the Eagles and Hurts’ agent Nicole Lynn on Monday made no mention of the player’s absence, but confirmed he had been diagnosed with “a deep vein thrombosis as well as bilateral pulmonary emboli.”
The statement said Hurts was “clinically stable and has no significant functional limitations”, but that during a period of treatment with blood thinners, Hurts would not “be allowed to participate in any contact activities, including football.”
“Jalen’s prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery,” the statement added.
“We anticipate that he will have the opportunity to resume contact football activities when off the blood thinners.
“In the meantime, he will remain active around the team and continue to condition. More importantly, we anticipate that he will have no long-term effects.”
According to reports, Hurts was in hospital until 4am before the Jaguars game, which the Eagles lost 19-17, and did not sleep.
Those reports claim the lack of sleep was under doctor’s orders.
He then flew back to Philadelphia from London following the game, despite flying being a “known risk factor” for blood clots, according to thrombosis medical expert Dr Jordan K. Schaefer, who spoke with ESPN.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni went on the defensive when asked in a press conference about the situation, amid an outpouring of disbelief that the team allowed Hurts to play in London despite knowing about the blood clot.
“The health of our players is always at the forefront of our mind, and we’ll leave that up to the medical experts,” he said.
“We always, always care deeply about our players.”
When pressed further, Sirianni said he was “not a medical expert”, and that he had “full trust and full faith” in Eagles doctors.
“We get medical information from our guys, and we always put the players health first and foremost in every situation.”
Former NFL defensive end Marcus Spears urged the Eagles to provide greater detail in how the blood clots made their way to Hurts’ lungs.
“The report says Jalen Hurts has multiple clots in his lungs, and it started in his leg with a superficial blood clot,” Spears said on ESPN.
“Throughout all of that process, I want to know what transpired for it to get to that point.
“I’m not giving anybody the blame, I’m not saying that heads should roll. I just want to know what the process was from a superficial blood clot in his leg to now sitting here today talking about blood clots in his lungs.
“We know he travelled overseas to play in the football game. That’s my only concern, because Jalen Hurts is a friend of mind, and I love him, I’ve got a ton of respect for him.
“So his health is the most important part of that conversation.
“I want to know how did Jalen Hurts get from a superficial blood clot in his leg, to blood clots in his lungs, and played a football game in between that time, and also flew over to London in that time?
“Information’s got to come out … I want to know that window from going from his legs to his lungs.”
Co-host Dan Orlovsky added: “It feels like just a very heavy story and situation”.
“I continue to go back to, how did he play?” he said.
“How did the starting quarterback of the football team, the face of your organisation, how did he play in that football game (in London)?
“I’m sure there’s people within Jalen’s camp going ‘We got to get some answers on this as well’, because it’s wild from the outside perspective, as just a fan.
“He’s your franchise quarterback!”
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