New York Giants tight end Daniel Fells is in a battle to save his foot and possibly his life, with NFL.com reporting that Fells has had five surgeries to stop a serious staph infection that was reportedly contracted from a cortisone injection he received after a toe injury.
The website reports that Fells is battling a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, infection that has kept the 32-year-old hospitalized for over a week. As of Friday, several news sites noted that Fells' condition looked to be improving, since he had been moved from the intensive care unit to a private room.
On Saturday a source with knowledge of Fells' condition told NFL.com that the tight end was in serious danger of losing his foot, a move doctors were considering given the nature of the infection. According to the news site, Fells has already undergone five surgeries, and more are planned.
Fells was reportedly given a cortisone shot after a toe injury. On Oct. 2, Fells' wife took him to the emergency room when he developed a 104-degree temperature. "There, they found his ankle was infected with MRSA, a dangerous staph infection that is resistant to many antibiotics," NFL.com reports.
Doctors don't want to amputate Fells' foot but are concerned that the infection has spread to the bone and possibly his blood, which could prove fatal.
"This is a serious situation that has been taken seriously from the beginning," Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon told NFL.com. "We're all fighting for Daniel."
Because the infection is highly contagious, Giants have had the locker room, training rooms and meetings rooms scrubbed and sanitized according to infection-control protocols.
"We are working with infectious-disease specialists, and we have defined protocols that we are following in consultation with the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network and local infectious-disease specialists," Hanlon told ESPN. "Those protocols are being followed carefully."
Fells posted a message to his Twitter account Sunday evening before the Giants took on the San Francisco 49ers: