Kelce: We’re Trying To Avoid a Setback

Evan Mathis went on TV Tuesday and said his teammate Jason Kelce was ahead of schedule in his recovery from sports hernia surgery.

Mathis suggested that Kelce had a chance to get back on the field in Week 9 against the Houston Texans. So naturally, the Eagles’ center was asked about that possibility today.

“I really wish he wouldn’t have said that because now it pushes me a little bit harder,” said Kelce. “This is the first day I’ve even been out of practice, and obviously I wasn’t a full participant. I was kind of just out there moving around. I’m still hesitant to put a date on it even if Mathis isn’t.

“I’m definitely not 100 percent. There’s still some tightness in the groin area. But that’s kind of to be expected, and that’s what we’re working to get over in the next week or two.”

After he had surgery, Kelce had targeted either this week or next week to return to practice. So it’s a good sign that he’s on schedule or even ahead of schedule. But a rushed return could cause a setback, which is what Kelce wants to avoid.

“There’s a small chance of going out there and really doing something drastically bad to the injury,” Kelce said. “What we’re trying to avoid is a setback in the recovery process, which wouldn’t necessarily put me back into a six-to-eight week recovery. It would probably put me back two to three weeks or something like that. That’s what we’re trying to avoid. If you come back too soon, it inflames the area and swells it up too much, so you can’t really get back too fast.

“My mobility and bending and everything is fine. It’s really when I elongate my stance and really stretch the groin muscle. That’s when I feel it the most.”

Kelce lost some weight after surgery and is down to 285 pounds, but he expects to be back up to his playing weight of 290 by the time he returns to game action.

UPDATES ON SPROLES, POLK AND KENDRICKS

Asked if he expects to play Sunday, Darren Sproles said: “The way I’m feeling, yeah. But it’s up to the coaches.”

Sproles participated in practice today, but noted that the coaches held him back a bit. On the play where Sproles injured his MCL, Nick Foles stuck up for him and wanted a penalty. But Sproles downplayed the hit.

“My foot just got kind of caught a little bit when I got rolled back, but it was a clean hit,” he said.

Sproles will be wearing a brace for the first time in his career. He will see how much he can do at practice on Wednesday.

Chris Polk (hamstring), meanwhile, did everything at practice today but didn’t make any predictions about his status for Sunday.

Mychal Kendricks was not available to reporters, but Marcus Smith II, who is still practicing with the inside linebackers, said he thinks Kendricks will be ready to return vs. the Cardinals.