Louis Rees-Zammit suffers setback with NFL roster soon to be named

Louis Rees-Zammit has emerged as a doubt for Kansas City Chiefs’ penultimate pre-season match against the Detroit Lions on Saturday. The 23-year-old former Wales winger missed training on Wednesday with a back injury, although Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub has not ruled him out of this weekend's match yet.

The injury came just days after he made his debut for the back-to-back SuperBowl winners, losing 26-13 to the Jacksonville.

Donning the No9 jersey, Rees-Zammit played running back, kick returner, kicker and as part of the special teams unit on punt returns against the Jaguars, finishing the match with one rushing yard from two carries, three receiving yards from one catch and a tackle as well. He even took a kick-off for his side in the third quarter.

Following the Welshman’s debut, Kansas head coach Andy Reid said it was “exciting for him to have a change to get in there and play. It’s faster than what he has seen in practice. So from an experience standpoint it was great for him. That was a positive and then just build on it.”

Should the 2021 British and Irish Lions pick fail to make the match on Saturday, he will only have one more game to impress his coaches, against the Chicago Bears next Thursday, before they name their 53-man roster for the NFL on August 27.

The Chiefs’ title defence will then get underway at home against the Baltimore Ravens on September 6. "I still want to see other guys," said Toub. "I want to see [Rees-Zammit], but he didn't practice today. He might not be available. We'll see, but I still want to see... there are a lot of guys I want to see. We have got time to do that."