Report: Berry to play, but surgery likely after season

Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry is expected to play in Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, but he'll likely need surgery to repair a lingering heel injury after the season, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday. Rapoport said the heel will be examined further whenever the Chiefs' season ends, and that corrective surgery is the likely outcome.

Berry was removed from the injury report following Friday's practice, his third straight day as a full participant. "I feel pretty good," Berry told reporters after the practice.

The five-time Pro Bowl selection missed the preseason and the first 13 regular-season games because of the heel injury. He played in two regular-season games in December before missing the finale after reinjuring it, and he also missed last weekend's divisional-round victory over the Indianapolis Colts. "I wanted to go in that game," Berry told reporters of the Colts' game. "Just a lot of complications that I can't really explain. Hopefully this weekend it will be different.

"Right now, I just know it's moving in the right direction and I want to get on the field on Sunday." --Field Level Media