When the Denver Broncos gear up for an AFC West showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday night in a Week 11 matchup, Peyton Manning will "definitely" be under center for them, according to interim coach Jack Del Rio.
According to ESPN, Del Rio said that Manning might be limited in practice this week after an ankle injury suffered previously was re-aggravated Sunday against the San Diego Chargers Sunday during Denver's 28-20 victory, but he will definitely take his spot at quarterback for this Sunday's game despite the injury.
Manning was hit low by defensive end Corey Liuget in the closing minutes of the game, but MRI results on Monday showed no new damage to the high ankle sprain that he suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 13, making Del Rio confident that Manning will be able to start under center against the Chiefs Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver.
"We did get good news that there was nothing additional, good results coming back,'' Del Rio said per ESPN."[Manning] will definitely play this week. So that's good news"
While Manning is expected to lead the Broncos (8-1) when the team looks to hand the Chiefs (9-0) their first loss of the season, Del Rio admitted that he could be limited in practice and some adjustments may need to be made to his schedule due to the injury.
"He'll get an occasional day off here and there,'' Del Rio said, according to ESPN. "We'll decide when that makes sense or not ... we'll manage that as we get closer to Wednesday, Thursday. He'll definitely play this week. He's ready to roll, so that's definitely good news.''
After Manning was hit, he stayed on the ground as Broncos' trainers quickly looked at his ankle. In a timeout that followed the play, Manning was also seen flexing his knee. He spoke after the game and said he was hit twice in a lower area.
"They got me twice in that lower area," Manning said Sunday per ESPN. "I felt better coming into the game after the bye week, but I'm pretty sore."
When asked where the injury was specifically, the quarterback wouldn't specify.
"Lower body," he told ESPN. "[I] feel like the injury report is very revealing to the opponent as well as the folks in Vegas, so I guess somewhere in that lower body."
The Broncos will be relieved that the injury to Manning wasn't more serious as he leads the league with 252 completions on 369 attempts for a 71.0% completion percentage for a league-leading 3,249 yards with an NFL-best 33 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
While he's not 100 percent, the Broncos will hope to get the game-changing Manning that they've had all season when the team looks to hand its division rivals their first loss of the season.
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