Talk to NFL players and most will tell you that they come away from most games feeling like they went through a car accident. This past week Drew Brees came away probably feeling like he got hit by a bus. And a baseball bat.

The New Orleans Saints quarterback went through a number of medical evaluations on Monday that revealed multiple fractures to ribs on both sides of his chest and a collapsed lung on his right side. Despite all of that, Brees tried to continue to play on Sunday, before realizing his body just wasn’t up to it and telling coach Sean Payton “he was not going to be able to be effective” if he tried to play in the second half of Sunday’s game.

It is believed that Brees fractured the ribs on his left side in last week’s game against Tampa Bay, while the broken ribs on his right side occurred in the first half of this past weekend’s game against the 49ers. Brees was reportedly having trouble breathing as the second half was about to get underway and determined it was probably best for him to not play. Doctors believe the cracked ribs Brees suffered on Sunday likely punctured his lung.

The veteran quarterback is sending his scans to other medical specialists as he seeks a second opinion. At this point there is not a timetable laid out for his return to the field, but an optimistic outlook would probably be about three to four weeks.

Brees seemed to be handling his injuries and recovery well. He posted a photo on Instagram of his kids checking him over with toy medical instruments while he uses a real incentive spirometer for his lung, saying, “Who Dat Nation: I’ve got the best medical team in the world … will be back in no time!”

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