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Ezekiel Elliott practicing again after mild, long COVID-19 battle: 'It was frustrating for sure'
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s battle with COVID-19 was long, but relatively mild.
Elliott, who confirmed he had contracted the coronavirus in June, said he only had minor symptoms — a cough, shortness of breath and heavy breathing — for about two days. The rest of the time he was asymptomatic.
[ Coronavirus: How the sports world is responding to the pandemic ]
Despite that, he said Monday after Dallas’ first padded practice, he wasn’t in a rush to start working out again even though it was incredibly boring being stuck at home in isolation.
“I’d probably say I didn’t work out for a month,” Elliott said, via USA Today. “Because there’s some complications COVID can cause to your organs. So you’ve got to make sure your heart and lungs are working all together before you get back out there.
“It was frustrating for sure.”
Elliott prepping for season despite earlier doubts
Elliott is among the biggest names in the league to have contracted the coronavirus. He was upset that the information leaked to the media in June, too, despite his agent confirming the news.
And, like countless others, Elliott expressed his concerns for how the league will handle player safety after he was diagnosed.
“You’ve got to put the health of the players first,” Elliott said in June. “And it’s not even so much I would say the players’ health because I got corona and it didn’t really affect me much. But a lot of people have kids, they may have kids with asthma, their parents or grandparents may live with them.
“We have to find a way to make sure the players and their families, and the coaches also and their families, aren’t put at risk.”
Despite his earlier worries, however, Elliott has been a full participant so far at training camp — something he opted to skip last season while waiting for a contract extension.
The 25-year-old is now set to enter his fifth season in the league, and his first under new coach Mike McCarthy — who is already incredibly impressed with his new running back.
“No flaws there, as far as him as a runner,” McCarthy said Monday, via USA Today. “You can see on the screens and some of the big plays he did have: He finishes runs. He finishes plays.
“His ability to be a multiple-run force runner is something I think we’ll will definitely utilize.”
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