Aubrey Burks’ fans faced a scary moment when he got hospitalized while playing at TCU in the last week of September. It was a football match between the Mountaineers Big 12 and TCU Horned Frogs. The two teams represented WVU (West Virginia University) and TCU (Texas Christian University).
Trey Lathan was also injured that day. However, he watched the remaining football match on his smartphone, cheering for his team. He was super-excited to see his team winning, while the medical staff assisting him in the ambulance did not know what was going on.
Talking about Aubrey Burks’s personal life, he is a father of two and majored in sports management. Saturday’s injury is not new to him because he has undergone many injuries previously as a sportsman. He was injured while playing safety at Auburndale High under the coach, Kyle Sasser.
247Sports considers Aubrey 53rd best Safety in the nation. He played in seventeen career games and created six tackles in 2022 while playing against Kansas.
Aubrey Burks’ Injury
Aubrey Burks was carted off the field after an apparent head and neck injury on 30 September 2023. It happened when he was playing the Mountaineers Big 12 game. TCU return man JoJo Earle dropped the ball from his hands and kicked it to Aubrey. JoJo Earle got the ball, but Aubrey ended up getting injured.
WVU Junior Safety Aubrey was immediately attended to by the WVU trainers, seeing him lying on his back. They asked for an emergency cart for quick medical supplies, a backboard to support his apparently injured back, and a brace around his neck.
Over ten trainers took Aubrey to an ambulance on a stretcher. Players from both teams came ahead and kneeled to see him. Meanwhile, the game resumed within ten minutes, and WCU won despite the trauma of seeing their teammates injured.
According to the West Virginia Twitter Page, he was at Fort Worth’s local hospital. He was under medical supervision overnight. Moreover, Aubrey tweeted on 01 October 2023 (Sunday) to express his pride toward his team and inform his wellbeing.
Neal Brown, WVU’s head coach, informed that Aubrey was conscious and did body movements. C.J. Donaldson, WVU Running Back, previously suffered an ankle injury while playing against TCU. He exited himself and did not return. So, he was reportedly more emotional for Aubrey.
Aubrey Burks’ Health Update
Neal Brown informed that Aubrey would remain in the hospital till the evening of 02 October 2023 (Monday). On 04 October 2023 (Wednesday), West Virginia Football tweeted that he arrived at Morgantown safely on Wednesday evening and would join his team the following day.
Brown thanked the TCU staff and the West Virginia medical team for helping the WCU player. Meanwhile, the redshirt freshman linebacker, Trey Lathan, was also injured and sent to the hospital Saturday night. He rejoined the WCU with Aubrey on Thursday but will not play for the remaining season.
According to Aubrey’s medical status by CaClubindia, he can start playing in December 2023. During this period, he must undergo imaging tests such as CT, MRI, and X-rays to find issues in the neck, spinal cord, and vertebrae.
Aubrey must undergo various tests to assess coordination, sensation, balance, reflexes, muscle strength, and electrical activity in nerves and muscles. He did not suffer life-threatening injuries. However, he must wear the brace around his neck for some months and cannot put any strain on it.
Let us see when Aubrey’s physician allows him to return to his past routine after rehabilitation. WVU is about to play against Oklahoma State, but he will miss it. Aubrey’s absence affects the team, though The Mountaineers of WVU are at the top in the Big 12.
Two defensive backs of WVU, Keyshawn Cobb and Montre Miller, were also injured this season, and they will not appear for the remaining season.
Aubrey played the first four games of the season before getting injured. Coming to the unfortunate night he got injured, he recorded one interception, thirteen tackles, two pass breakups, and three tackles for loss.
Aubrey walks without support, and the WCU team members will get motivated by seeing Aubrey around. However, we cannot neglect the psychological trauma he must have gone through after getting injured. So, a psychological evaluation might be a part of his treatment.
