Alex Smith tells group he had 17 surgeries on leg

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Washington quarterback Alex Smith was back on the practice field recently, throwing passes as he recovers from last year’s gruesome broken leg.

And he had to go through far more than anyone knew to get there.

According to Thom Loverro of the Washington Times, Smith told a group of medical professionals at an event earlier this month that he had 17 surgeries to repair the damage.

That’s a lot of successful surgeries.

The crowd was apparently alarmed by the revelation, as one would be when a quarterback’s trips to the operating room exceed their jersey number.

In addition to repairing the broken fibula and tibia, there were multiple procedures to remove tissue after he developed an infection.

Washington gave him a four-year, $94 million extension upon trading for him, but between the injury and drafting Dwayne Haskins in the first round, it’s unclear if he’ll play for them again.