With the regular NFL season only a couple of weeks away, tight end Tyler Eifert is looking to rejoin the Cincinnati Bengals on the field again. According to reports, the athlete is hoping to play with the team against the Miami Dolphins on Week 4 of the regular season.
Eifert made his debut in the NFL in 2013 after he was drafted by the Bengals as the 21st pick. However, during the Pro Bowl, Eifert injured his ankle.
A couple of months ago, Eifert underwent surgery for his ankle. Since then, he has been participating in various rehabilitation programs in order to improve his condition for the upcoming season.
According to NFL.com, Eifert is feeling confident that he will be able to play professionally again soon. As noted by the sports site, he is targeting to returning sometime during the Week 4 and Week 6 of the regular season. If he gets the clearance to play by September, that means he'll be able to join the Bengals as they take on the Dolphins on Sept. 29 at the Paul Brown Stadium.
However, as pointed out by Yahoo! Sports, it's still a bit too early to tell if Eifert is ready to play again. After all, it's just been around three months since he underwent surgery. For professional athletes, three months is a short time to fully recover.
Still though, Eifert is optimistic that once September rolls around, he'll be in perfect condition to join the Bengals. During a recent interview, the athlete revealed that he has already started jogging again for the first time following his injury.
But, he noted that this doesn't mean that he's rushing his recovery. He knows that he has to follow a strict process regarding the improvement of his condition. He also said that he's aware that only time will tell when he will be able to play again.
"It's only frustrating because there's nothing you can do," he said according to Cincinnati.com. "You can work as hard as you possibly can and you can be here for 24 straight hours, but that's not going to help it move along faster."
"You just have to trust the process and be patient with it and do what you can to get better," he added.
