McKenzie Milton wasn’t in attendance as his UCF teammates won back-to-back AAC championships earlier this month. Very early next year, however, he’ll be there as the Knights look to put the finishing touches on a second consecutive unbeaten season.
In an update on the UCF quarterback’s status, Teresa Milton, McKenzie’s mom, revealed in a statement posted to Twitter that her son is undergoing another surgery Thursday “to get him more comfortable.” Additionally, the mom confirmed that Milton “will be at the Fiesta Bowl to cheer his [teammates] on to Victory!”
UCF will face LSU Jan. 1 in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.
Good Morning Knight Nation! Wanted to thank you all for the prayers and good thoughts! Yesterday KZ has a ultra sound and it was music to our hearts ! Today a surgery to get him more comfortable! He will be at the Fiesta Bowl to cheer his team mates on to Victory! Arizona bound
— TeresaMilton (@milton6teresa) December 13, 2018
In the second quarter of UCF’s win over rival USF last month, Milton went down with a horrific and gruesome injury to his right leg. Medical personnel immobilized the quarterback’s entire leg before he was taken to a local hospital for further treatment of an injury that his head coach, Josh Heupel, deemed “traumatic.”
It was subsequently confirmed that Milton underwent emergency surgery to repair unspecified damage in his knee as well as what was described as “other internal issues.” Not long after, McKenzie’s family issued a statement in which they described the surgery as being successful but provided no details on the specific nature of the injury.
In the days following the injury, one of Milton’s teammates, Jordan Johnson, revealed that he had FaceTimed with Milton and that the quarterback stated he was able to take steps for the first time since the initial surgery was performed. In another statement, the family confirmed that “blood flow has been restored to his right leg and his nerve is injured but intact.”
Milton, who was released from the hospital eight days after sustaining the injury, will have to undergo reconstructive surgery at some point in the next month or so “depending on his vascular recovery.” At this point in time, it remains decidedly uncertain what if any future Milton has in football.