Alex Smith reportedly dealing with infection after surgery for horrible leg injury

There were already questions about Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith’s ability to come back and play again after a horrible leg injury, and that situation is even more complicated now.

Smith is dealing with an infection after surgery for a broken fibula and tibia and is still in the hospital, as first reported by Burgundy Blog. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed the report and later credited Burgundy Blog for breaking the story.

Burgundy Blog reported that the infection could “require re-intervention,” and possibly a “partial reconstruction.” Rapoport added that Smith has had several procedures, and is having tissue removed due to the infection, but still remains optimistic about his playing future. Smith suffered the injury on a sack against the Houston Texans on Nov. 18.

Needless to say, it sounds like an even longer road back for Smith. And it was already a really long road to begin with, given the nature of the injury.

Redskins put out a statement regarding Alex Smith

The Redskins, who haven’t been particularly good at handling public relations matters lately, put out a statement on Thursday morning that didn’t address any specifics.

It’s a tough spot for the Redskins. They just traded for Smith this past offseason and gave him a $94 million contract with $55 million guaranteed. Now his future seems totally up in the air. The post-surgery infection could really complicate that, though at this point football seems to be of a lesser concern than Smith’s health in general.

The team hasn’t said anything publicly that would indicate it is worried about Smith’s ability to come back, or anything about what is happening with him after his surgery. There has to be concern though, because it would be strange to not be concerned after an injury like that.

There were a lot of comparisons made between Smith and Joe Theismann after Smith’s injury. They suffered similar, grotesque injuries 33 years apart, to the day. Theismann never played again after his injury in 1985. Hopefully Smith can make it back.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @YahooSchwab

Subscribe to The Yahoo Sports NFL Podcast
Apple Podcasts• Stitcher • Google Podcasts

More from Yahoo Sports:
• NFL scolded by Cowboys’ Elliott for Salvation Army fine
• Cleveland police add new wrinkle to Kareem Hunt case
• Chiefs love how QB addressed Hunt scandal
• Bus carrying HS hoops team in fatal wrong-way collision