Steve McMichael set to be discharged from hospital after latest health scare

Steve McMichael got some good news in his latest health fight.

The Bears legend, who was admitted to the ICU last week with an infection, is expected to be released from an Illinois hospital on Thursday.

Walter Payton’s son, Jarrett, shared a statement from McMichael’s family on X about the positive turn of events.

“Mongo is set to return home tomorrow!” the statement read. “We appreciate all the prayers and kindly ask for continued thoughts and prayers for Steve and his family.”

McMichael, 66, went into the hospital last Thursday as he battled a urinary tract infection, and over the weekend, his family said he developed MRSA, which is notably tough to treat because it is resistant to “several antibiotics,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

His family said Sunday that he was improving and had hoped he could leave the hospital in the coming days.

The former defensive tackle has battled ALS since 2021 and was previously admitted to the ICU at Silver Cross Hospital last August with sepsis and pneumonia.

McMichael learned a week before this most recent ICU admittance that he would be joining fellow Bears Devin Hester and Julius Peppers as part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

Known as “Mongo,” McMichael played in a Bears-record 191 straight games and recorded 92.5 sacks in Chicago, ranking second in franchise history.

He helped lead a vaunted 1985 Bears defense that got the team its first and only Super Bowl win.

“When I think about Steve as a player, as a teammate, reliable,” former Bears star Mike Singletary told the team’s website after McMichael’s Hall of Fame election. “Steve would be what you’d call a blue-collar guy. He was a team guy. As a player, he was the best. You could always depend on him to do his job and be where he was supposed to be.

“I really believe that’s one of the things that he prided himself on is being dependable and being a teammate.”