Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez will have surgery to remove cancerous tumor
Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez didn’t perform all of his regular kicking duties against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and now we know why.
In an Instagram post Monday, Sanchez announced that he’ll be having surgery on Tuesday to remove a cancerous tumor. He didn’t reveal where the tumor was located, but he thanked team doctors for discovering it before it had a chance to spread.
“Like I said before, it’s always God’s plan and it will always be bigger than my plans,” Sanchez wrote. “So grateful to be surrounded by doctors that helped me catch the cancerous tumor before it spread all over my body. I will be getting surgery on Tuesday and I know that it will not be an easy bump in the road, but I know I have my amazing wife supporting me along with family, coaches, and friends reaching out.”
After Sunday’s game, head coach Frank Reich was asked why Sanchez was limited. Reich would only say that Sanchez was “dealing with a physical issue that we have to get further evaluated.”
Sanchez may have been dealing with his impending surgery and the weight of announcing the news to the world, but you couldn’t tell Sunday. The 26-year-old punted five times for 254 yards, an average of 50.8 yards per punt. Reich had nothing but glowing compliments to give him after the loss to the Titans, which are much more meaningful now that we know what Sanchez is dealing with.
“I give Rigo a lot of credit for the way he punted today and for really coming through for us when we needed him the way that he did,” Reich said Sunday.
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