INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez didn’t know what to expect.
He wasn’t dealing with a sprained ankle or jammed finger, an injury he knew he'd recover from quickly so he could be back on the field handling punting and kickoff duties for the Colts.
Hearing the doctors found a cancerous tumor was something different.
“Your mind starts thinking and playing games, thinking the worst,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “At the same time, I try to tell myself, 'You’re going to be OK. Everybody has your back.'”
Sanchez had surgery to remove the cancerous tumor on Dec. 1, and he was back on the practice field with his teammates for the first time Wednesday.
It’s uncertain when Sanchez will be back booming balls out of the end zone or pinning the opposition deep on its own end of the field on punts -- veteran Ryan Allen has handled the punting duties the past two weeks -- but the fact that Sanchez was back on the practice field, continuing his NFL career, is a step in the right direction for him.
“It was amazing to hear because you never really know,” Sanchez said.
The past three weeks have been a whirlwind for Sanchez, who wants to keep the type of cancer it is personal.
It was the day before Thanksgiving that he realized something wasn’t right with him. He had no problem punting the ball, but then there was a “weird” feeling he countered while doing some dry swings before kicking off.
Sanchez, who said he has always fought through pain, told special teams assistant coach Frank Ross about it, who then suggested he get some medical attention. Sanchez referred to it a “crazy roller coaster.”
“I’m just fortunate enough to move around all the time, use my body in all sorts of ways,” Sanchez said. “It’s crazy because I think [coach Frank Reich] mentioned saying that if I was doing some kind of desk work, maybe I wouldn’t have caught it right away. I’m just fortunate to be young and be able to do what I do and that’s play football here. I was just fortunate enough to catch it in time and after that, doctors took the lead and I just followed. I’m just grateful that they caught it early.”
Shutting it down until his surgery the following week wasn’t an option for Sanchez. He still wanted to play against the Tennessee Titans that weekend.
“I wasn’t going to do that to my team,” Sanchez said. “It’s all about the team. At the end of the day, I don’t think they would have been able to get a punter in in time, and it wasn’t going to be any worse. That was already worst-case scenario. I was going to fight through the pain, whatever it was. No need to make a bigger deal than it is. I was going to get surgery Tuesday already, so I was like, ‘Can it get any worse?’ I asked the doctor if it could get any worse and he said, ‘No.’ So then I’m like, ‘OK, I’m going to play. I’m going to do it for my brothers. They need me.’ That’s what it was.”
Sanchez handled punts, but rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship kicked off during the game. Reich didn’t reveal why the switch was made, other than saying that Sanchez was dealing with something.
Thinking the contest against the Titans might be his last, Sanchez was filled with emotions the day of the game.
“Getting out of the hotel, going through my routine, I just had that sick feeling to my stomach -- the fact that that was happening to me,” Sanchez said. “Pregame, I had a couple moments to myself where I just couldn’t hold it in. I’m just passionate. I love to be around the guys, I love to do my job, I love to grow -- punt, learn as much as I can since I’ve been here. I feel like all that played a part that day, on game day, just not knowing when my next day was going to be back or just be able to move around or anything like that.”
Sanchez had what was described as a successful procedure two days after the game against the Titans. The doctors have told him things are looking “pretty good” and that his “numbers are definitely lower.”
Sanchez said the amount of support inside and outside of the Colts organization was incredible. Special-teams players from across the league reached out, and his Twitter and Instagram were constantly filled with support. Former Colts coach Chuck Pagano even made a video for Sanchez. Pagano missed part of the 2012 season while battling cancer.
The fact he’s already back in the team facility just two weeks after the surgery is a great story in itself for him.
“I was overwhelmed throughout this crazy process of ups and downs mentally and all of it, but it helped out so much having everybody by my side -- family members reaching out, friends, you name it,” Sanchez said.