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UCF’s Milton says recovery ahead of schedule

Field Level Media

August 24, 2019 at 8:59 pm.

UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton said Saturday that his recovery from a traumatic right leg injury is ahead of what anyone could have envisioned.

“I’m a lot further along than any doctor would anticipate or predict, and that’s by the grace of God and a lot of prayers and a lot of support by close friends and people I don’t even know,” Milton said in an interview with ESPN’s Maria Taylor, who was at Disney World with the ESPN GameDay crew in advance of the season opener between Florida and Miami, being played in Orlando.

“With my nerve damage, I’m basically back to 100 percent. I have full feeling in my foot. You know that’s very rare. Sometimes it never comes back for some people, and the artery, the blood is flowing great.

“So now it’s just about getting range of motion and building strength back up.”

Milton was injured Nov. 23 during the regular-season finale at South Florida. The nerves in his right leg were so damaged and the blood flow so restricted that amputation was a possibility.

Now, his goal is to return to the field for the Knights in 2020.

Milton, 21, has credited the training staff, team doctors and the medical team at Tampa General Hospital for saving his leg and giving him a chance at a comeback.

“I’ve had the best doctors, the best training staff,” he previously told the Orlando Sentinel. “And now I feel that it’s up to me.”

Under Milton’s leadership, UCF went undefeated (13-0) in 2017 and finished the 2018 season at 12-1, the only loss to LSU in the Fiesta Bowl.

The 17th-ranked Knights open their season Thursday against Florida A&M.

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