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Oregon TE coach says 'No doubt' Pharaoh Brown plays in 2016

Pharaoh Brown should make his return from a horrific knee injury in 2016 according to Oregon tight ends coach Tom Osborne.

The tight end has been out of action since the 2014 season when he suffered a severe right knee injury against Utah. His knee bent unsually after he was trying to regain his balance from stepping on a teammate's foot.

He's been recuperating from the injury ever since and missed the entire 2015 season. From OregonLive.com:

"Oh yeah, I have no doubt he plays this season," Osborne said. "Playing football, that's what motivates him. Because that's his mindset, that creates a work ethic to try and get him healthy enough to play. When you go through what he's gone though, I don't know how many guys will do that. I have no doubt he'll put himself in position to play. No doubt at all."

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Brown's recovery has been lengthy because he didn't just suffer ligament tears in his knee. In addition to two tears, he said he stretched an artery in his leg. He was hospitalized for four days after the injury and suffered internal bleeding and limited bloodflow to his lower right leg.

He took his first hit on a football field in late December when he got hit from behind and rolled up on.

"Everybody kind of looked stunned and then when I popped right up everybody was OK," Brown said in December. "Our sports science guy was like, 'You're lucky [Oregon associate director of medicine] Miss Kim didn't see that, she would have lost it.' That was the first time I really got hit."

Brown had 25 catches for 420 yards and six touchdowns in 2014 before the injury.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!