{"id":259236,"date":"2025-10-29T18:53:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T18:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/259236\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T18:53:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T18:53:11","slug":"chiefs-isiah-pacheco-suffers-mcl-sprain-what-can-we-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/259236\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs\u2019 Isiah Pacheco suffers MCL sprain: What can we expect?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is one of four main stabilizing ligaments surrounding the knee joint. It lies on the medial aspect of the knee, attaching to the femur and tibia bones. The ligament helps stabilize the knee on the inside, preventing it from bending or collapsing inward under valgus (lateral-to-medial) forces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The MCL is commonly injured during twisting motions, but more often from severe valgus forces \u2014 precisely what occurred with Pacheco.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">While his right foot was planted, a Washington defender struck the outside of Pacheco\u2019s knee, causing a sudden and forceful valgus mechanism. Pacheco was immediately evaluated by medical staff on the sideline. ESPN cameras captured the athletic trainers assessing him for ligament damage. The injury appeared minor when an elated Pacheco hopped off the treatment table and rejoined teammates on the sideline.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">As noted in previous injury analyses, all ligament sprains involve some degree of tissue tearing. Sprains are classified as Grade 1 (mild, with minor tearing of fibers), Grade 2 (partial tear), or Grade 3 (complete tear).<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Although the injury was not deemed a full tear, the strain could still sideline Pacheco briefly, depending on severity \u2014 especially with a short week as the Chiefs prepare to face the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buffalorumblings.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buffalo Bills<\/a> on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">While the severity of the strain has not yet been reported, Pacheco\u2019s upbeat demeanor after the sideline evaluation \u2014 along with head coach Andy Reid not mentioning the injury after the game \u2014 are both positive signs. Pacheco was not given an immediate injury designation, though swelling and irritation could have increased in the 24 hours following the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">More will be known about Pacheco\u2019s status once the Chiefs begin practice preparations on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">This season, Kansas City has mostly used a committee approach with its running backs. Kareem Hunt has only 16 fewer carries than Pacheco, handling most of the short-yardage duties. Even if Pacheco is available for Sunday\u2019s game, we should expect Hunt \u2014 and rookie Brashard Smith \u2014 to have expanded roles. If Pacheco is inactive, we could see running back Elijah Mitchell be on the game day roster for the first time this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is one of four main stabilizing ligaments surrounding the knee joint. It lies&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[9373,24782,349,99],"class_list":["post-259236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-game-information","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-injuries","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}