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Saints' Sanders shares COVID-19 fears: 'You don't know this virus'

Rey Del Rio / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Warning: Story contains coarse language

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders says he's experienced anxiety since testing positive for COVID-19, fearing his condition could worsen at any time.

Sanders opened up about what it's been like battling the coronavirus on the latest episode of Uninterrupted's "17 Weeks" podcast and explained he has a hard time watching the news now.

"I remember when I used to watch the news, it says, '200,000 people have died from it ... I can't even watch this shit now," he said around the 12:00 mark. "Every night I go to sleep, I'm like, 'Lord, please, let me like wake up in the morning feeling good,' right? Like, I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night and like, can't breathe, like, what the f---? And like, shit just goes south, right?

"That's like my biggest fear in watching that shit, it intensifies my fears, right? People can say whatever you want. Everybody could say, 'Oh yeah, like I'm not scared to get COVID ... and you may think you're healthy, but in the back of your head, you don't know it. You don't know this virus. Nobody knows anything about this virus, you don't know how your body's gonna react."

Sanders added he's more scared for his wife, who's also tested positive for the coronavirus.

"I'm a champ, I can handle anything," he said. "But for me, I just feel like, man, I hope she handle it. But she's been handling it like a champ."

The 33-year-old will miss his second straight game Sunday when the Saints take on the Chicago Bears.

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