What is a superficial blood clot? Doctor explains Jalen Hurts' recovery timeline and season outlook

What is a superficial blood clot? Doctor explains Jalen Hurts’ recovery timeline and season outlook originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Eagles are dealing with a serious injury to star quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts was ruled out for the Eagles’ Week 6 game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday as he has been diagnosed with a blood clot found in his leg.

Hurts has previously been dealing with what the team classified as a calf injury he suffered during Philadelphia’s Week 5 game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Wednesday leading up to the Panthers’ game, he told reporters he got “nicked” against the Rams. Ahead of the Eagles’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, an ultrasound was performed Saturday after the team flew to London.

“The ultrasound revealed a superficial blood clot,” the Eagles said in a statement. “Our medical staff and doctors in London reviewed the results and concluded that activity and mobility were important and that Jalen could safely play. Doctors recommended a follow-up ultrasound within 72 hours of the game and the return flight to Philadelphia.”

Hurts was cleared to play against the Jaguars, and did so without limitation. On Wednesday evening after returning from London, another ultrasound revealed “movement” in the blood clot, and Hurts was effectively ruled out.

The Sporting News spoke with Dr. Syed T. Zaidi, a vascular surgeon at Orlando Heart Health & Vascular Institute, to learn more about Hurts’ diagnosis and recovery.

IYER:Why Jalen Hurts’ blood clot won’t doom 2-3 Eagles’ NFC playoff chances

What to know about Jalen Hurts’ diagnosis and recovery

What is Jalen Hurts’ diagnosis?

Jalen Hurts has been diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in his leg, otherwise known as thrombosis.

According to the the Harvard Medical School thrombophlebitis is a blood clot (thrombus) inside an inflamed vein. Clots that affect superficial veins, which are seen easily near the surface of the skin — it’s called superficial thrombophlebitis. They are common in people who have varicose veins.

“The first important thing with these blood clots is to kind of delineate the type of blood clots that they are,” Zaidi said. “When you say superficial, in layman’s terms, that means it’s closer to the surface compared to deep, which is kind of in the deeper veins of the leg. So regarding both, the symptoms are pretty similar in the sense that you’ll have swelling, pain, and leg tightness.”

What is a superficial blood clot vs. deep vein thrombosis?

According to Cleveland Clinic, superficial thrombophlebitis occurs in the body’s superficial veins, which are closer to the skin. They are considered less serious than deep vein thrombosis, otherwise known as DVT, which forms in the body’s deeper veins. Zaidi states that 25% of superficial clots are associated with deeper clots.

“Which they would see on the initial ultrasound,” Zaidi said. “With the superficial system, it usually entails your saphenous veins, and the saphenous vein connects with your deeper system in the groin. Whenever blood clots they’re closer to the groin area, if it’s like within five centimeters or if they’re seven centimeters long, that’s when you start to worry about the clot extending from the superficial system into the deeper system.”

How is a blood clot sometimes confused for pain in a muscle? Is that common?

According to the Mayo Clinic, superficial blood clots can cause symptoms near the clot itself such as pain, red or discolored skin and swelling.

In Hurts’ case, he reportedly took a cleat to his calf against the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 4.

“One of the risk factors [of blood clots] is trauma,” Zaidi said. “What ends up happening is trauma leads to kind of this inflammatory process around the vein specifically. Whenever there’s an inflammatory process, it kind of creates what’s called this hypercoagulable state, which puts you at more risk of developing clots. Though it’s not common, it is a possibility that can happen after the trauma that he took.”

What is the treatment for a blood clot?

Per the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, some treatment plans can include anticoagulants—blood thinner medication to help resolve the current clot. They can help prevent new ones from forming.

The Eagles have not detailed what Hurts’ rehab plan will entail, or whether or not he will be put on an anticoagulant.

“It’s hard to truly say if he’ll be on a blood thinner, or if they’ll just monitor it,” Dr. Zaidi said. “So, if it was an outpatient thing or something like that, those would just be the conversations that I’d have with patients regarding the treatment options and what they’d want to do. Obviously with him being a football player, it’s a little bit harder to be on anticoagulation.”

MORE:Philly’s ongoing timeline of sports misery

Are blood clots common in high-level athletes?

There have been a few instances of athletes dealing with blood clots. Tennis superstar Serena Williams has a history of blood clots, and suffered a pulmonary embolism after she gave birth to her daughter, Olympia.

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, another form of a blood clot, in his shoulder in Feb. 2025. DVT is considered more serious than superficial, as they develop in the body’s deep veins, typically not visible through the skin.

Wembanyama was cleared to return to the Spurs in July 2025. NBA players Brandon Ingram (2019) and Ausar Thompson (2024) were treated for DVT and returned to full NBA participation. Chris Bosh had repeated DVTs that ended up setting back his career.

ESPN college football broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit being diagnosed with a calf injury that ended up being a blood clot that traveled up his blood stream, resulting in a pulmonary embolism.

While Dr. Zaidi stated that when playing any sport, there is a risk of players becoming dehydrated, which can cause the blood to thicken. But with superficial clots, moving around is actually a good thing.

“A lot of people worry that moving around will cause the blood clot to get worse or move or anything like that,” Dr. Zaidi said. “That’s not the case. You can go out and walk around and practice and everything.”

Can you play a sport with a blood clot? What are the risks?

One of the biggest risks for blood clots is if the clot travels to the lungs and stops blood flow, which causes a pulmonary embolism.

“The biggest thing that we worry about with blood clots is going to the lungs and causing what’s called a pulmonary embolism,” Dr. Zaidi said. “With these ones that are called superficial venous thrombosis, they have a lower risk of embolizing, but it’s still there.”

Against the Jaguars, Hurts threw for 220 yards with a touchdown, adding two rush yards.

“His biggest risk factor was the fact that he kind of went on a flight,” Zaidi said.” Plus, he kind of played through it. And when they did the initial ultrasound, from what I can imagine, it was more further down the leg. It wasn’t that bad that they didn’t have to do anticoagulations. But him taking the flight plus playing through it, I think it made it get a little bit worse.”

How does traveling and flying long distances affect blood clots?

On Friday evening, the Eagles took a red-eye flight to London that landed Saturday morning. The average flight time from Philadelphia to London is seven to eight hours.

“The biggest risk factor for blood spots is the mobility,” Dr. Zaid said. “And then especially a flight from Philadelphia to London. You’re sitting on the plane. You’re a little dehydrated. You’re not moving, and so that can add on to the injury that he experienced with the initial blood clot. It’s not surprising that it got worse.”

Hurts and the Eagles played on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. local London time.

How long is the recovery time for a blood clot?

Hurts has been ruled out “indefinitely” per Ian Rapoport while he deals with the clot.

Per the Cleveland Clinic, a superficial blood clot “typically resolves within a few weeks.” According to an excerpt from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, after being diagnosed with a blood clot, one should refrain from activity for “at least a month.” The time allows the clot to stabilize, which decreases the risk of the clot traveling to the lungs.

After the Eagles’ Week 6 game against the Panthers, Philadelphia will play the Cowboys at home on Monday, Oct. 26, followed by a Week 8 road trip to take on the Washington Commanders. The Eagles will then play the Giants at home on Nov. 8 followed by a bye week.

“With any blood clot, it all just becomes something to monitor [with] the symptom progression,” Dr. Zaidi said. “The biggest worry is that the blood, any blood clot in the deeper system, could cause an issue with the drainage in the legs, and then that becomes a concern as well. So it’s just monitoring the symptoms and seeing how your body feels, and yeah, just kind of seeing how your body feels and how your symptoms go, and then if it gets worse, and obviously the conversation becomes what’s the next step in the care plan.”

While Dr. Zaidi stressed it’s hard to speculate on Hurts’ timeline since he is not examining the quarterback, the average range of recovery for a superficial clot can range from three to six months

“It always comes down to the conversation with the patient regarding risk versus benefits with treatment options,” Dr. Zaido said. “You can go the conservative route and do serial ultrasounds to monitor the progression, or you could do anticoagulation, and that’s for three to six months, depending on how bad it is. So it kind of really depends on the conversation with him and his team.”