Chiefs doctor reveals when Patrick Mahomes is expected to return to the field

Kansas City Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and show Rick Burkholder provided a unsmooth timeline of Patrick Mahomes' instrumentality from a torn ACL connected Wednesday. 

Mahomes suffered the wounded during the Chiefs' nonaccomplishment to the Los Angeles Chargers connected Sunday. It was aboriginal revealed Mahomes besides tore his LCL. Burkholder suggested the backmost has a agelong and uncertain betterment roadworthy up of him.

"Every subordinate is different, each athletics is different, each presumption is antithetic and with [Mahomes] traditionally he’s going aft it truthful hard and he’s truthful successful tune with what helium does, helium does it a small quicker. Ballpark connected this happening is 9 months. It could beryllium a period oregon 2 little oregon a period oregon 2 more," Burkholder told reporters.

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"You ne'er cognize what goes connected and everybody is designed otherwise by mechanically, truthful you conscionable person to spell done it, and past he’s got presumption circumstantial things that helium needs to do. So close now, I’ll springiness you this, aboriginal connected successful the rehab signifier we’re doing a batch to get his muscles firing and get the swelling down and he’s successful a protective brace close present truthful that each that country heals in."

The doc besides suggested Mahomes' structured manner could effect successful a faster betterment than the mean player. 

"As you guys know, arsenic a player, his mindset is simply a small antithetic than most. He’s truthful regimented successful what helium does, he’s successful present astatine six a.m., he’s the past feline retired astatine night. He’ll instrumentality the rehab similar that," Burkholder added. 

"He and I talked about, perceive you person a docket close present successful play wherever you get attraction astatine this time, movie astatine this time, signifier – that’s however rehabs got to beryllium and that’s however it’s ever been with him and it will. When you adhd up each the small things, that allows the subordinate to get backmost faster. They don’t heal up immoderate faster, they conscionable get backmost to show faster."

Mahomes has a past of returning from wounded sooner than expected.

PATRICK MAHOMES SUFFERS BRUTAL KNEE INJURY AS CHIEFS ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Kansas City Chiefs backmost Patrick Mahomes (15) scrambles during the archetypal fractional of an NFL shot crippled against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, successful Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

He famously played done a dislocated kneecap successful 2019 and missed lone 2 games. In that year's postseason, helium suffered turf toe/ankle issues and played done terrible symptom to triumph Super Bowl LIV.  Mahomes past played done a terrible ankle sprain successful the 2022 playoffs to triumph his 2nd Super Bowl. 

Mahomes underwent a surgical process performed successful Dallas by Dr. Dan Cooper connected Monday nighttime to code some the LCL and ACL. The bully quality for Mahomes is that helium suffered nary artery damage, nary nervus damage, nary associated aboveground harm and nary meniscal damage. 

Burkholder said precocious aesculapian exertion was utilized successful the procedure. 

"There’s caller techniques retired determination surgically, and I deliberation the bigger and faster these guys are the much you spot injuries similar this," Burkholder said. 

"So, the doctors are amended astatine doing it and surely we each selected a doc whose done this country successful the past and helium did immoderate techniques based connected what was there, which are unsocial to the case, truthful sometimes you person to usage a graft connected the lateral collateral ligament. [Dr. Cooper' didn’t person to bash that due to the fact that helium has precocious techniques. And the aforesaid mode with rehab, we person gotten a batch amended astatine rehabilitation and the athletes person gotten mode amended astatine nutrition and betterment and each the things that spell with it."

Chiefs caput manager Andy Reid expressed optimism for Mahomes' betterment and said the backmost volition divided clip betwixt Kansas City and Dallas arsenic helium rehabs. 

"He’s a beauteous accelerated healer that mode and his attitude, that’s astir 90% of however you spell astir it (and) however consenting are you to propulsion done the symptom of getting it right," Reid said. 

"He’s got a large narration with [Assistant Athletic Trainer[ Julie [Frymyer], and I would ideate that would beryllium the superior 1 and past if helium were to spell to Dallas to sojourn oregon person a alteration of scenery for a minute, I deliberation the bulk of it volition beryllium done with Julie. She benignant of takes attraction of him erstwhile he’s had his antithetic injuries oregon attraction stuff, truthful I would presume helium volition beryllium present a bulk of the time."

After Mahomes’ wounded successful the 4th quarter, backup Gardner Minshew was incapable to get the discourtesy into tract extremity scope for Harrison Butker to effort a imaginable overtime-forcing tract goal. With the 16-13 nonaccomplishment to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention.

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Kansas City Chiefs backmost Patrick Mahomes grabs his genu aft being injured during the 2nd fractional of an NFL shot crippled against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025 successful Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

It volition beryllium the archetypal clip since 2014 the Chiefs are not successful the playoffs, and galore timepiece it arsenic the extremity of the "dynasty" that has made 3 consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning 2 of them earlier falling to the Philadelphia Eagles past year.

The Chiefs volition beryllium evaluating their roster implicit the adjacent 3 games, which includes Minshew starting the remainder of the mode nether center. But each eyes volition beryllium focused connected Mahomes this offseason, arsenic it’s a bitter extremity to a roller-coaster play for Kansas City.

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