– Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy worked from home on Thursday after a medical emergency just days before the team’s biggest game of the year.
McCarthy is recovering from appendectomy surgery.
The team said he started having stomach pains at work Wednesday morning. Hours later, doctors determined he needed an appendectomy.
Cowboys’ coordinators ran practice in his absence on Wednesday and Thursday.
McCarthy is expected to return before Sunday’s game against the first-place Philadelphia Eagles.
The Cowboys are a 3.5-point favorite to beat the Eagles.
A win over Philly on Sunday would put Dallas even with the Eagles at the top of the NFC East.
Quarterback Dak Prescott said he talked to McCarthy on the phone Thursday and believes his coach is eager to return to the sidelines.
Dallas has won four straight games and is undefeated at home this season. Prescott said the team is eager to keep that momentum going.
“These are the moments that we’ve prepared for to be honest with you. Not that we didn’t for all these past games. This is the stretch in the season when you look at the season that you have to be excited about. These are the moments that we’ve worked for and built this culture for, this brotherhood,” he said.
The team’s biggest hurdle Thursday was not McCarthy’s absence, it was the wind. It was so bad, they had to practice indoors.
If McCarthy can’t make it Sunday, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is expected to fill in.
