A little more than two months after breaking his leg, Aidan Hutchinson is on schedule for a potentially miraculous return.
Given a recovery time of four to six months following surgery for a fractured tibia and fibula, Hutchinson is aiming to beat his best-case scenario back on the field.
"I’m on track for my goal of returning for the Super Bowl," Hutchinson said on Taylor Lautner's podcast The Squeeze, with the full interview going live later this week.
The Super Bowl is Feb. 9. Hutchinson's injury occurred Oct. 12.
"I keep telling all the boys when I see them in the facility, ‘You guys just gotta get there and I promise you I’m going to be back," Hutchinson said. "I tell people that, and my mom -- we were talking yesterday -- she’s like, ‘Aidan, what if you don’t get back? Like, what if you can’t?’ And I was like, 'There’s no other way.’"
Hutchinson is one of several injured starters on the Lions' defense, which lost two more key players last week in defensive tackle Alim McNeill (torn ACL) and cornerback Carlton Davis III (fractured jaw). Linebackers Derrick Barnes (knee) and Alex Anzalone (broken arm) are sidelined as well, though the Lions expect to get Anzalone back for the playoffs, possibly Week 18.
If they can make it to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX, one of the best players in football will be raring to go.