Minnesota Vikings linebacker Cameron Smith will be forced to miss the 2020 season after finding out he needs open-heart surgery to address an issue revealed through a COVID-19 test.
Smith announced Saturday he learned of a serious heart condition after testing positive for the coronavirus.
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“Earlier this week I found out I need open-heart surgery to fix a bicuspid aortic valve that I was born with. Although this will unfortunately end my 2020 season, it is really a blessing that we found this as my heart is severely enlarged and wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I found this out after I tested positive for COVID and had to have further testing done as protocol. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but I could really feel him on this one!” Smith wrote.
“There is a surgery that will allow me to continue to play football as soon as I am healed and cleared and I didn’t think twice about going with that one. By no means am I ready to be done playing football, there is still so much more I want to accomplish on the field. I’m going to attack this like everything else I have in life. Already looking forward to the comeback!”
Smith, 23, would have been entering his second season with the Vikings. Minnesota selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 draft out of USC.
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He appeared in five games for the Vikings. He recorded eight total tackles in those games.