Eli Gold is doing well in rehab and looks forward to returning to the broadcast booth at some point in the future, according to the long-serving voice of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Prior to the beginning of the 2022 college football season, the University of Alabama announced that the legendary play-by-play man would be sidelined due to health issues.
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In a Wednesday Facebook post, WVTM 13’s Rick Karle detailed a phone conversation he had with Gold that evening.
“He was calling from a rehab facility somewhere between Birmingham and Atlanta,” Karle wrote in the post.
Gold has long experienced issues relating to mobility, according to Karle’s account of his conversation with Gold.
“It’s really a mobility issue,” Karle recalled Gold as saying. “People who know me are aware that last season I was having some mobility issues. My mobility has gotten worse, so I’m working hard in physical therapy almost every day.”
“I’ll be honest, I have a lot of work to do,” admitted Gold.
The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee opened up about the health struggles he battled over the summer.
“I would say what forced my decision not to be in the booth has been ongoing for about 5 months,” Gold said. “I spent quite a while in the hospital and lost 100 pounds- I simply didn’t want to eat.”
“The good news is that I have my appetite back, and I have gained back 11 pounds.”
Karle noted in the post, “While Eli doesn’t have a timetable for a return to the booth, he remains the quick-witted man we all know.”
Gold told Karle that “Bama fans will know when I return. Because I will be back to being my normal, joyful self. For now, just consider myself being on injured reserve.”
Alabama’s legendary play-by-play man expressed gratitude to those who have supported him during his health woes.
“You had to get sick just to learn how popular you are,” Karle said he jokingly told Gold.
Karle said that Gold vowed to return to the broadcast booth at a later date.
Chris Stewart, who is the current anchor of Alabama’s football broadcast and play-by-play man for Crimson Tide basketball and baseball, is filling in for Gold in his absence.
Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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