CNN
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University of Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders is at risk of having his left foot amputated due to poor circulation, according to doctors at the school.
The 55-year-old former NFL and MLB star met with his medical team on an episode of “Thee Pregame Show” on YouTube and revealed he can’t feel the bottom of his left foot.
In the meeting, he discusses the possible next steps to alleviate the daily pain, with doctors suggesting doing an initial surgery on Sanders’ foot to realign one or more of his toes that have had more pressure put on them due to his previous toe amputations.
Earlier this year, Sanders said he had nine surgeries, including eight within a month on the left leg, after developing blood clots that resulted in him having two toes amputated in 2021 while he was the football head coach at Jackson State University. Sanders missed three games due to the amputations.
“You just have to understand what the risks are. Things can cascade,” vascular surgeon Dr. Donald Jacobs tells Sanders, while adding that he was not only at risk of losing another toe but possibly his whole foot if it didn’t heal correctly from the surgery due to the poor circulation.
“Well I know what the risks are. I only have eight toes so I’m pretty sure I understand,” Sanders replied.
“I just want to know what we can do, because I want to do it this summer, because when we get rolling, I’m not going to have time to do it,” he says later.
Sanders’ medical team consists of Jacobs, vascular surgeon Dr. Max Wohlauer, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ken Hunt and athletic trainer Lauren Askevold, according to the video.
In December, Sanders – now often called “Coach Prime,” derived from his nickname “Prime Time” from his playing days – was hired to become the head coach of the Buffaloes football program. Colorado opens their campaign on September 2 against last season’s College Football Playoff finalist TCU.
“As you know I’ve faced some medical challenges with my foot but I’ve never said ‘WHY ME’ – I keep moving forward, progressing,” Sanders said in a post on Instagram earlier in the week. “I’m CoachPrime and I’m built for this.”
