Leo Chenal is undergoing season-ending surgery after suffering a broken neck in an NFL game.
The Washington Commanders linebacker was carted off the field after a scary incident in Sunday’s upset win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Chenal was rushed to hospital for further tests after being immobilized and taken off the field after appearing to lead with his head making a tackle on Emmanuel Wilson in the second quarter.
It has now emerged Chenal suffered a fracture in his neck but has feeling in all his extremities and is expected to make a full recovery although his season is over.
The fifth-year former Wisconsin star is a two-time Super Bowl winner having been part of two Kansas City Chiefs championships alongside Travis Kelce, who he counts as an ‘awesome friend’.
He was a third-round draft pick by the Chiefs in 2022 and enjoyed four memorable seasons in Kansas City before joining the Commanders on a three-year, $24.75 million contract this off season.
Head coach Dan Quinn looked concerned as Chenal was treated and teammates gathered around him and took a knee before he was rushed to hospital.
Quinn said after the game: ‘He’s at the hospital. He does have feeling in his extremities, undergoing further testing as we go through tonight. Definitely thinking of him. Pulling for him as much as we can.’
His brother, Adam Chenal, wrote on X: ‘He is getting surgery in the morning to replace his wrecked vertebrae with titanium, pray for a successful surgery! Thank you.’
The day of the injury, he said: ‘Please pray for my brother Leo who had a serious neck injury today. He is stable and able to move his limbs, and no signs of nerve damage as of yet.’
Despite leaving the Chiefs, Chenal was invited to and attended Kelce and Taylor Swift’s wedding at Madison Square Garden in the offseason.
He later said: ‘It was awesome. To get the invite from Travis, he’s been such an awesome teammate to me and a friend to me ever since I got into the league.
‘He embraced me as a rookie. Being able to see those two come together, meeting Taylor, just a beautifully minded person and she is so inviting and welcoming and such a real person.
‘It was just an honor to be able to witness that and those two coming together in such a beautiful ceremony and celebration.’
Chenal featured in a heartwarming moment with Kelce on ESPN docuseries The Kingdom following the Chiefs during the 2024 season.
He revealed that he asked for Kelce’s jersey as a rookie in 2022, only for his teammate to innocently forget the request.
But after Chenal blocked a field goal to keep the Chiefs unbeaten against the Denver Broncos in Week 10 in 2024, he took another shot.
Kelce gave him the jersey off his back, writing a special message on the jersey.
‘Leo!’ Kelce wrote. ‘My brother forever. One of the best on and off the gridiron! Love the way you come to work every day. Always grind!!’
‘He’s a special dude,’ Chenal later said. ‘When you talk about the greats but also being a great person, it’s an honor even being his teammate. And to call him a friend is pretty cool, too.
‘And then having that memory that I’ll share with my family for generations to come is huge and something I’ll always look back and smile on.’
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