Cincinnati football star defensive lineman Dontay Corleone is out indefinitely after suffering from a non-football illness earlier this month.
Corleone will miss football activities for an undetermined period of time while he is treated for blood clots found in his lungs, discovered after he reported chest discomfort and shortness of breath to the Cincinnati athletic trainers.
A team, led by senior associate athletic director for sports medicine Aaron Himmler and head team physician Dr. Jon Divine, worked closely with physicians and specialists at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on diagnosis and initial treatment.
The rising junior team leader spent one night at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and was discharged on June 14. He has been back home, recovering since.
Corleone and Cincinnati's sports medicine team are currently consulting specialists to determine the next steps in his recovery process.
Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Aaron Himmler
"Dontay came to us with chest pain and told us he was having trouble breathing. Over the course of two days, we ran several different tests with the UC Medical Center that determined he had blood clots in both of his lungs. His recovery has been going well. Thankfully, we caught this early, and we are hopeful he will be able to safely return to playing football in the near future. We are currently consulting specialists to determine next steps. Most importantly, Dontay is in good health right now. We are grateful for the hard work of Dr. Jon Divine and our partnership with the UC Medical Center that allowed us to quickly identify and treat the problem."
Redshirt Junior Defensive Lineman Dontay Corleone
"I am incredibly grateful to my family and for Aaron Himmler, Dr. Jon Divine, our whole medical staff and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for guiding me through this over the last few weeks. Right now, I'm focused on my recovery. My hope is I will be able to return to football soon, but in the meantime, I will do everything I can to rehab and help the football program as a leader and mentor to our younger players. I'm looking forward to being around the guys soon. The sky is the limit for the Bearcats this season. I love my teammates, our coaches, this university, this city, and – of course – this fanbase, which has been incredibly supportive of me over the last three years."
Cincinnati Football Head Coach Scott Satterfield
"I'm extremely grateful for our medical staff, who identified this problem right away. We are going to support Dontay in every way we can through this. Dontay is an outstanding leader and everything you can ask for in a student-athlete. He genuinely cares about doing everything right and leading his teammates. We know he is going to do everything he can to pour into our program while he recovers and
