Mark Sanchez remains sidelined from Fox Sports NFL booth after stabbing incident

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former NFL quarterback and sports analyst Mark Sanchez isn't expected to return to the Fox Sports NFL booth anytime soon.

The 38-year-old Sanchez will miss his third straight week of games on Sunday as he continues to recover after police said he was stabbed during a fight with a truck driver outside an Indianapolis hotel on Oct. 4.

Sanchez faces a felony battery charge, along with several misdemeanor charges, for what prosecutors have said was a fight over parking. Sanchez and Fox Sports also face a civil lawsuit filed by 69-year-old Perry Tole.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday in Marion County court.

Fox Sports has not said anything publicly about Sanchez since saying he was injured on Oct. 4.

A police affidavit alleges that Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted Tole, who had backed his truck into a hotel’s loading docks in downtown Indianapolis on Oct. 4. Tole claims in a lawsuit that Sanchez entered the truck without permission, then physically blocked and shoved Tole, who then doused Sanchez with pepper spray.

When Sanchez advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled a knife to defend himself, authorities said.

Sanchez was hospitalized with stab wounds to his upper right torso, according to a police affidavit. A picture of Tole circulating online shows him in a neck brace on a hospital bed, covered in blood with a deep slash to the side of his face.

Sanchez was in Indianapolis for Fox’s coverage of the Oct. 5 game between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Sanchez had a 10-year NFL career before retiring in 2019. He spent four seasons with the New York Jets and also appeared in games with Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington.

He appeared on ABC and ESPN for two years before joining Fox Sports as a game analyst in 2021.