rewrite this title Seattle Seahawks suffer major injury worry just days before Super Bowl LX

The Seattle Seahawks’ run to Super Bowl LX has been built around a solid defense but they could be without one of its key components when they face the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Safety Nick Emmanwori suffered an ankle injury in practice on Wednesday and looked distressed while being spoken to by several of his team-mates and coaches. He walked off the field unaided but is now an unwanted worry for the Seahawks.

“He had an ankle today,” head coach Mike Macdonald told ESPN. “We brought him in to look at it, and we’ll kind of go from here and figure out what are the next steps?”

Emmanwori has been one of the stars for the Seahawks, being nominated as a finalist for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after being taken with a second-round pick.

Seattle QB Darnold on course to star on Sunday

There was better news, however, over quarterback Sam Darnold, who continues to make good progress from his oblique injury.

“It feels really good,” Darnold said Wednesday morning. “Definitely the time off has helped a little bit. I’m always just going to take it one step at a time, do my rehab and do everything I need to do to make sure it feels great going into practice and going into the game on Sunday.”

Darnold played in both of Seattle’s playoff games despite barely practising in the build-up to the NFC Championship clash against the Los Angeles Rams.

“He’s in a great spot. I know he’s really confident,” added Macdonald. “Sam’s right on schedule. So we’ve had this plan here over the last X amount of weeks, and it varies every day. And today he had a great day, so we’re right on schedule.”