Eli Drinkwitz: Ahmad Hardy ‘medically cleared’ from gunshot wound

TAMPA, Fla. (KMIZ)

Mizzou star running back Ahmad Hardy has been 'medically cleared' from the gunshot would he suffered in a May shooting, head coach Eli Drinkwitz told media members at SEC Media Days, on Monday.

According to Coach Drinkwitz, Monday was Hardy's first day on the road back towards a full recovery. In that shooting, the leader of the Tigers said that the bullet did strike the running back's bone, but as of now it is fully healed.

"We anticipate that he will make a recovery, what that recovery will look like after having a bullet strike you, is still to be determined. We do not know exactly what the return-to-play progression is because there's not a lot of literature and data on this," Drinkwitz said. "We do anticipate that this return-to-play protocol could take anywhere between five to eight weeks and at the end of the eight weeks, we still don't know what his recovery will be from is he the same Ahmad Hardy that was last year. My anticipation, from what I've seen and the way he's attacked his rehab, he's gonna be a better Ahmad Hardy than what he was before."

Coach Eli also emphasized how proud he's been of how Hardy's approached his recovery, since May.

He even noted that the Mississippi native has been back at one of his favorite hobbies, recently: riding his horse.

"I'm not sure riding horses was part of the recovery protocol," Drinkwitz joked. "But, hell, John Wayne rode after he had been shot and turned out alright."