Despite undergoing surgery, DT Mekhi Wingo planning for a return this season

The Tigers suffered a major loss in the BYE week. After resting up what was assumed to be more of a nagging injury vs. Army, defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo has officially undergone surgery and will miss six weeks, according to coach Brian Kelly. However, if you ask the star LSU football defender, his season is far from over.

Defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo undergoes surgery, could miss up to 6 weeks

You never went to lose a player to injury. This is especially true when it happens to be a player widely viewed as a veteran leader for your defense.

Unfortunately for LSU football, this is exactly what it looks like they’ll have to endure for the remainder of the regular season.

A couple of weeks back, coach Brian Kelly informed the media that defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo would be out vs. Army, but it didn’t seem like too much of a concern at the time.

“Mekhi Wingo has been nursing a lower-body injury all year,” Kelly said prior to the Army matchup. “This gives us a chance to really get him right going into the BYE week and then the rest of the season.”

However, the injury appears to have been more concerning than the coaching staff initially anticipated. At Monday’s press conference, when asked about his weekly injury update, he had some less-than-ideal news on the veteran defensive lineman.

“Mekhi had surgery. He is out for the season,” Brian Kelly said.

However, it’s important to note that he quickly corrected himself, giving a more detailed explanation, saying, “The projections are six weeks, so we’ll see where that goes.”

The veteran DT plans to return for the Tigers’ playoff run

Generally, when a player receives treatment as major as surgery in the middle of a season, it doesn’t bode well for the remainder of his year.

However, while LSU football defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo will likely be out for the rest of the regular season, he hasn’t lost hope of getting back on the field before things are all said and done.

After news broke of his six-week projection, he quickly took to Twitter, letting the fanbase know that he’s not done yet.

🙏🏾 I’ll be back for the playoffs 💆🏾‍♂️ we focused https://t.co/wYz1biry1s

— mekhi wingo (@WingoMekhi) October 30, 2023

The phrase “I’ll be back for the playoffs” is quite the vote of confidence from the star defender. It’s also not as far-fetched as many might initially think.

If the Tigers win out, including an SEC Championship, it’s possible that they could find themselves in the mix for the four-team playoff.

However, with Wingo officially out for at least the next four games, the LSU football team has quite a bit of work to do if this were to be a possibility.

Whether it be for the playoffs or another bowl game, it sounds as though we haven’t seen the last of the veteran defensive tackle this season. Until then, it’s next man up.

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