Joe Montana details battle with nerve damage, arthritis after retiring
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana extensively discussed his numerous ailments following his illustrious career Friday, in an interview with Josh Peter of USA TODAY Sports.
The four-time Super Bowl champion - in San Francisco to perform the coin toss at Super Bowl 50 - outlined how he's suffering from arthritis, nerve damage in his eyes, and underwent three neck fusions, among several other maladies.
"They kept saying I'll need a knee replacement when I can't walk," Montana said. "I can't really run or do much with it."
Montana said he can't participate when his family goes surfing or skiing.
"My whole family likes to live on the edge, so some of the things I regret that I can't do with them," Montana said. "Like snowboarding. I fell like 50 times within 30 yards off the top of the ski lift. ... I love basketball. I can't play basketball. I can shoot, but that's about it. I can't run up and down the court. My knee just gives out.
"I tried a little bit of skiing, but unfortunately when you get weight on one ski under my left knee, it's just not very strong. After my first back surgery, what kind of compounds things, is my sciatic nerve has been damaged. So the muscles along my sciatic nerve into my left foot have been numb since '86."
Montana said a doctor told him that the nerve damage stemmed from head trauma, a likely effect of taking numerous shots during his 16-year career.
With one of the greatest players of all-time candidly detailing his brutal life after football, the NFL is presented with reason for grave concern.