Frederick OK despite unknown

FRISCO, Texas — While Travis Frederick has no idea when his football career will resume, the Dallas Cowboys center is just relieved that he found out what was wrong when he was diagnosed with a nerve disorder.

The four-time Pro Bowler doesn’t want to say that his presence on the active roster, rather than injured reserve, means he could come back sooner than the eight weeks required by an IR designation.

Frederick is getting treated for Guillain-Barre syndrome, an auto-immune disease that attacks nerves and leads to weakness in various parts of the body.

“I wish I was lying to you by telling you that,” Frederick said Thursday in his

first meeting with reporters since the diagnosis. “I have some of the best doctors in the business working on this and they can’t even begin to predict how this is going to work. It really is a week-byweek thing.”

Frederick’s streak of starting all 83 games, including three playoff games, in his five seasons with the Cowboys will end Sunday when Dallas plays at Carolina.

The 27-year-old reiterated that his chances of a quick recovery improved when the disease was caught early. Frederick was diagnosed about 2½ weeks ago and immediately underwent treatment.

The 2016 All-Pro said doctors believe he has a type of Guillain-Barre that allows for complete recovery and a slightly increased risk of getting the disease again.

With doctors catching the condition early, Frederick said he is likely to avoid extreme symptoms such as temporary paralysis and difficulties with breathing and body control.

Frederick said he experienced numbness in both feet and hands and in one of his arms. He said he is still dealing with numbness in both arms.

“I was very relieved to finally have an idea of what it was that was going on, because I was having some weird symptoms,” Frederick said. “I got treatment and things started to improve. That helped relieve some of that uneasiness there.

“It’s hard looking forward not knowing what’s coming as far as a recovery standpoint, when I can come back. But knowing that I will get back to 100 percent at some point is certainly relieving.”