BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Colorado coach Deion Sanders will undergo a procedure later Tuesday that’s related to his blood clots, with the hope of being back at practice the next day and on the sideline this weekend against Iowa State.
The surgery is called an aspiration thrombectomy, which involves the left popliteal — located behind the knee — and tibial arteries. Sanders said it may take several hours.
He gave the medical update at the end of his weekly news conference, saying, “I cannot wait to get past this hurdle.” He added it’s hereditary and “has nothing to do with me working at the level I’m trying to compete at.”
The 58-year-old coach was in pain during a 35-21 loss at TCU last Saturday, alternating between sitting and limping along the sideline with his leg throbbing. He didn’t wear a shoe on his left foot in the second half and after the game said he was “hurting like crazy.”
“I’m going to be all right,” said Sanders, whose Buffaloes (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) host No. 22 Iowa State (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday. “Prayerfully, I’ll be right back tomorrow because I don’t miss practice. I don’t plan on doing such.”
Sanders dealt with blood clot issues while at Jackson State in 2021, with doctors amputating two of the toes on his left foot. He also skipped a Pac-12 media day session in 2023 following a procedure to remove a blood clot from his right leg and another to straighten toes on his left foot.
On Tuesday, his good friend and longtime NFL cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones attended the media session as a show of support. Sanders appreciates all the texts and phone calls from people expressing their concern over his health.
“I’ve got a lot of well-wishes, of people talking about: ‘You need to slow down. You need to take a break,’” Sanders said. “There’s nothing that I could’ve done to stop what’s transpiring. Nothing that I could’ve taken or something that I’m just not abiding by. It is what it is.”
Sanders spent time away from the team over the summer after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer. He revealed details of his treatment, which involved doctors reconstructing a section of his intestine to function as a bladder. He frequently needs to use the restroom so the school introduced a portable sideline bathroom for him during games that’s sponsored by Depend underwear.
“I trust God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind,” Sanders said Tuesday. “I’m going to go in there (surgery), and I’m going to get some of the best sleep in the world for, I think, four hours, the surgery is going to be.
“I’ve never been high a day in my life. I’ve never drank, smoked or anything. But when I get those surgeries, I am there on time.”
The Buffaloes are 15-16 since Sanders took over as their coach leading into the 2023 season. They’re trying to get on track this season as they replace quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
They’ve lost two games in a row.
“The reason I’m still excited about this team that just finished practicing is because I don’t feel like we’ve gotten our butt kicked,” Sanders said. “I feel like we’ve just wrapped it up and given (games) to them. That’s frustrating. But also there’s hope in that. That we see where we’re messing up at, we see where the faults are and we’ve got to fix that. So there’s truly optimism.
“I’m not saying we’re a great football team, but we’re not a bad football team. We’re better than we’re playing.”
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