Kevin Kolb is dealing with ‘most painful thing’ he’s gone through

As the Cardinals get ready to face the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, they do so knowing they’ll be without the services of quarterback Kevin Kolb. Kolb suffered a rare football injury in which his ribs detached from his sternum and he sprained the sternoclavicular joint in his chest when he was crushed between two Bills defenders on October 14th.

Tuesday Kolb talked with the media for the first time since the injury, which might be the worst he’s suffered his entire career.

“It is probably is the most painful thing I’ve ever gone through just because your chest, everything works together,” Kolb said. “From the collarbone down to my last rib that was all out of sync, so it hurt to sit up it hurt to breathe, it hurt to talk, it hurt to take a step.”

More than one week later Kolb finally feels like he’s making a little bit of progress in the rehabilitation process, but it has not been easy.

“The last three days have been great,” Kolb said. “The first seven days is just strictly rest, trying to let the ribs settle in and now it’s getting them back into place and making sure everything’s in working function.”

The Cardinals have lost three straight games, so it’s understandable that the quarterback is anxious to get back on the field. While saying he expects to play again this season, Kolb admitted there is no date set for a return.

“There is no timetable, unfortunately they can’t tell me because of the severity of it,” he said. “I’m pushing as quick as possible. They keep having to tell me to be patient.”

It was reported early on that Kolb could miss at least six weeks, but the Cardinals were quick to dispel that rumor. Instead, they just said he would be out an ‘unspecified amount of time’.

Like everyone else, though, Kolb would prefer to have a return date in mind.

“Every Monday and Wednesday when I meet with the doctors, I ask them, ‘hey give me a timetable,'” he said. “And they won’t do it, they won’t do it. At least until another couple weeks where things settle back in like they’re supposed to.”

Kolb also talked about what goes on in his weekly appointments as he tries to get back on the field. Some of it sounds tedious, and some of it sounds painful. It’s all meant to gauge his progress.

“They revisit the MRIs and they see what’s being reattached where,” he said. “The last couple days, the ribs are out of place so they do their best to move them back into where they’re supposed to go and that comes from the chiropractor and the massage therapist.”

It’s clear that Kolb is making progress each day, but it also sounds like we may not see him back on the field for a game for at least a couple more weeks. He has not been able to throw a football yet and is just working on being able to exercise and get his breathing right with full lungs.

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