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Peyton Manning Says He'll Need Hip Replacement Surgery After Retirement
February 4, 2016
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has played in the NFL since 1998 and it's starting to take a toll on him. The 39-year-old revealed Wednesday during a Super Bowl media session he's facing hip surgery when his playing days are over, per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com.
Certainly when you have injuries, when you have surgeries, the doctors sometimes will mention to you, whether you ask him or not, you're probably headed for a, you know, a hip replacement at a certain time of your life. And I said 'Doc, I didn't ask you if I had to have a hip replacement, I didn't need to know that here at age 37, that's for sure.' And I look forward to that day when I'm 52 and have a hip replacement. You know, am I going to have some potential neck procedures down the road, I don't know the answer to that. The hip part was true, this doctor told me that. I've seen a lot of doctors and he was nice enough to share that information with me.
It's not totally shocking someone who has been sacked 303 times in his career is facing post-NFL physical issues, but Manning, who has hinted retirement could come for him after the Super Bowl, has been one of the more durable players the past two decades.
Until this season Manning only missed 16 games in his career, and they came in the same 2011 season following neck surgery. He talked about the fact he will be dealing with that later in life, but is doing what he can now to limit future pain, per Legwold.
| Peyton Manning: Early vs. Late | |||
| 1998-2010 | Category | 2011-2015* | Category |
| Games Played | 208 | Games Played | 58 |
| Games Missed | 0 | Games Missed | 22 |
| TD/Season | 30.7 | TD/Season | 28.0 |
| Pro-Football-Reference.com/*Missed all 16 games in 2011 | |||
"I feel like I do a lot of things to try to ... you know, preventive type of stretching, I wear a posture shirt, different things like that,'' Manning said. "As those things come along, you know, later in life for me, I'll try to handle them and try to have a good plan. But I feel pretty good as we speak.''
Manning revealed the news when he was asked about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disorder many NFL players have been found to suffer from—although it's only diagnosed postmortem—including Hall of Fame quarterback Ken Stabler, who died last year.
The Broncos quarterback didn't address CTE, but there is no doubt the NFL is going to face major questions in the near future about the brutality of the NFL, especially with heightened social awareness, and the fact someone as popular as Manning will be dealing with the effects.
