29 January 2023 , 20:42
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Kansas City Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce is a game-time decision and could miss the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
On Friday, Kelce was a surprise addition to the Chiefs’ injury report when he was listed as questionable for the anticipated match with a back issue. He suffered the injury on the last play of practice during the week and has been striving to be fit for the rematch of last year’s conference championship.
The star tight end reportedly suffered from back spasms during the week but his condition appeared to improve on Saturday. Kelce initially expected to be cleared and play with little disruption.
Kelce is now in danger of missing the clash against the Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium with a place in Super Bowl LVII on the line. The Chiefs will assess his status once they have seen him run and go through pregame workouts.
It is not the only piece of injury news that has disrupted the game’s preparation for the Chiefs. In the first quarter of the their Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Patrick Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain as he was tackled by Corey Peters and Arden Key, who fell on the quarterback’s lower right leg.
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Mahomes - the frontrunner for the league’s MVP award - fell awkwardly and writhed in pain on the turf. He went to the locker room while backup Chad Henne briefly took control of the Chiefs offence before he returned in the second half.
Travis Kelce scored an eight-yard touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs last week (Getty Images)The 27-year-old was clearly limited in the latter stages of the match, but he did enough to secure a fifth successive home AFC Championship Game. Mahomes has been assessed on a daily basis since and will start against the Bengals.
After Mahomes, Kelce is surely Kansas City’s most important player. The charismatic star had 14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Jaguars while he led the team in catches, yards and touchdowns during the regular season.
Kelce is just 54 yards from surpassing Julian Edelman for the second-most receiving yards in NFL postseason history. Kelce will hope to pull off the feat when the Chiefs face the Bengals on Sunday night - if he is fit.