Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey details harrowing health situation that landed him on IR

After playing in the season opener, Detroit Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey missed a month on IR due to what was listed as an illness. The extent of it was not known. But if he was put on IR, it was certainly something more than what might typically cause a player to miss a practice or two during any week of the season.

Dorsey returned to action in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after missing the minimum four games, playing 19 special teams snaps and returning two kickoffs.

On Wednesday, Dorsey spoke to reporters. He revealed what he had been dealing with, and to put it mildly it was severe.

Rhabdomylosis. Here's how the Cleveland Clinic describes it.

Rhabdomyolysis (pronounced “rab-doe-my-ah-luh-suhs”) is a condition that causes your muscles to break down (disintegrate), which leads to muscle death. When this happens, toxic components of your muscle fibers enter your circulation system and kidneys. This can cause kidney damage.

This dangerous muscle condition can result from overexertion, trauma, medications or an underlying health condition. Common signs and symptoms of rhabdomyolysis are weak muscles, muscle stiffness, muscle pain and a change in your pee color.

Rhabdomyolysis can be life-threatening, so if you notice any of these signs or symptoms, visit a healthcare provider immediately.

"Rhabdo", as it's called for short, is fairly uncommon. Each year, 26,000 people in the United States develop the condition.

Khalil Dorsey details his harrowing health situation

Via SI.com, Dorsey revealed a bit of what he was dealing with.

"I had to wait to get back healthy, make sure all the labs came back and nothing was wrong," Dorsey said. "Make sure my kidneys were fine, make sure everything's fine. I felt dead for about like a week and a half. Everything was sore. I had no energy to do nothing. I was on IV's, would come here, get like three bags, come back later, get another bag. There was a stick in my arms." 

Dorsey, apparently and thankfully, avoided any long-term damage to his organs. Now that he's of course cleared medically, there isn't concern of a recurrence. So he should be able to continue playing without further incident, and in the trivial football sense be a key contributor for the Lions on special teams over the rest of the season.