DENVER (KDVR) — The head coach of the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team Deion Sanders is facing the possibility that his foot may need to be amputated.
It started during the 2021 season when the former NFL star and Hall of Famer was coaching the Jackson State football team. The Associated Press reported that he had injured a toe and had a procedure in September that left him using crutches and a scooter to get around the field.
As that was healing, his toes began to darken under the bandages. He had several surgeries and complications and eventually had his big toe and second toe amputated due to blood clots.
Sanders, also known as “Coach Prime,” became the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes in December. Now, he is at risk of losing his whole foot.
A clip from Wednesday’s episode of “Thee Pregame Show,” a video series that documents the football season, showed a meeting with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kenneth Hunt and vascular surgeons Dr. Donald Jacobs and Dr. Max Wohlauer to discuss Sanders’ pain and what can be done about it.
Hunt recalled ultrasound studies of Sanders’ leg that showed how the blood flow going through his leg had declined.
“Ordinarily you have three arteries that are putting blood to your foot and after the procedures you had before, it kind of went down to one,” Hunt said. “And that one was a little bit tenuous.”
He said the risk of doing something and having a similar problem was “too high” as it could mean the coach would lose his foot.
Wohlauer said that tests in 2022 comparing blood pressure in his arm and ankle were at 100%, but now some arteries have clogged and the flow to his ankle is at 66% compared to that of his arm.
Jacobs added that while it could heal, it would take a very long time and could mean that he would not be able to walk at all.
Coach Prime said he doesn’t have feeling in the bottom of his foot, and that he just wants to do whatever needs to be done this summer before the football season starts.
It wasn’t clear whether or not he will commit to surgery, but he vowed to keep progressing in an Instagram caption, and wrote “I’m CoachPrime and I’m built for this.“
