NFL fans caught the first glimpse of quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s gruesome scar this week, almost four months on from his knee surgery.
The Kansas City Chiefs star went under the knife in December to repair the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, which he sustained as the team was eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in his decorated career.
The raw, physical toll the injury and subsequent procedure has had on Mahomes was laid bare on Tuesday when the scar was incidentally caught on camera.
Mahomes’s wife, Brittany, shared a series of photos from a family trip to Milk & Honey Ranch, a luxury resort in Round Top, Texas, to Instagram.
Among the adorable snaps of their three children – Sterling, five, Bronze, three, and Golden, one – Mahomes’s surgically repaired knee was left exposed.
The three-time Super Bowl winner was captured cradling his one-year-old daughter between his legs on a paddleboard, the positioning putting the front of his knee on display.
NFL fans caught the first glimpse of quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s gruesome scar
Photos from the Mahomes family’s trip showed the signal caller’s scars from recent surgery
Mahomes, his wife Brittany and their three children visited Milk & Honey Ranch in Texas
The angry, red mark running down his knee cap from where surgeons entered to repair the ACL could be seen.
In a separate image of Mahomes hoisting his eldest up to pet a cow, he was caught from a side angle. In that snap, the long line running down the outside of his leg could be seen, where his LCL was repaired.
It was the first time fans were given a full, up-close view of the signal caller’s healing wound.
Mahomes has already been working towards a return to the field, sharing footage of himself practicing at the end of last month, just three months after the season-ending surgery.
Although ACL/LCL surgery can entail a recovery period of nine to 12 months, Mahomes has vowed to return ‘stronger than ever’ with an eye towards participating in organized team activities (OTAs) this spring.
‘Day by Day!’ Mahomes captioned the Instagram footage, which showed him dropping back and throwing with a sleeve covering his left leg. ‘Felt Great being able to throw the ball around today!’
Meanwhile, amid his recovery and the NFL offseason, the Mahomes family appear to be spending quality time together.
In other snaps from Milk & Honey Ranch, the quarterback was seen helping Sterling to feed a goat and to pet a cow, and toasting marshmallows over a fire pit.
Bronze was captured tucking into an ice cream cone and Brittany posed next to a calf while holding Golden in her arms.
