Reports: Vikings defensive end Udeze has serious illness

[WoodysGirl]

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings are extending their "thoughts and prayers" to defensive end Kenechi Udeze after a television station reported Monday night that he has a form of leukemia.


Udeze

The Vikings declined to confirm the television reports by Minneapolis stations KSTP and KMSP out of respect for Udeze's privacy, but issued a statement of support from coach Brad Childress.

The station reported Udeze is undergoing tests to determine the severity of the disease.

Udeze's agent, Ethan Lock declined to comment.

Udeze, 24, was a first-round draft pick out of USC in 2004. He has 11 sacks in 51 career games, having missed most of the 2005 season with a knee injury.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[Duane]

Thoughtd and prayers to Udeze and his family. Hopefully they caught it early and they'll be able to treat it because it's so sad to see someone cut down in their prime by cancer.

 

[DallasFanSince86]

Thoughts and Prayers to Udeze and his family.

 

[CosmicCowboy]

Prayers to you and your family.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

I pray that he will be ok and treatable.

 

[Muhast]

Awful. My cousin is a huge Vikings fan and around 11 last night he called me saying Vikingupdate.com had posted it and wanted to ask if I'd heard anything about it. We both checked ESPN and all the major sites but hadn't seen anything so we were hoping maybe it was a false report, but looks like it was true.

Hopefully everything was caught early and can be treated. Prayers go out to him and his fam.

 

[Captain Grid Iron]

What a shame. Hopefully a high-profile case like this will help lead to improved techniques in fighting these terrible diseases.

T&P with him, family, and the Vikes.

 

[IronCowboy]

Thats what you get for playing for playing for Souther Cal.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Too bad. Hope he rebounds soon.
There are tremendous new advances in fighting leukemia.

 

[Fletch]

God be with you Udeze.

 

[Biggems]

wow call me ignorant...i always thought of leukemia as a children's disease......although, didn't Coach Landry die from a bout with Leukemia?

at any rate.....what a huge bit of news to have to deal with. i dont know what would happen if i went to the doctor and was told i had some form of cancer....i think it would completely floor me and cause me to become extremely depressed.

i can only imagine what those individuals that deal with this miserable disease have to go through.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family for certain. Very sad situation.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

i hope its not that untreatable staph thats been plaguing hospitals and training rooms across the country.