Shortly after J.K. Dobbins suffered ligament damage in his left foot Nov. 6 and was heading for injured reserve, Matt Kates reached out to the Broncos running back to wish him the best.

Kates was Dobbins’ coach at La Grange (Texas) High School, and the two are very close.

“I texted him and he responded, ‘Coach, it will be all right. I’ll come back stronger than ever,’’’ Kates said Tuesday in a phone interview. “That’s kind of how he handles everything.”

Dobbins was thought by many to be out for the season when he suffered the Lisfranc injury in the Nov. 6 game against Las Vegas and was placed on injured reserve Nov. 15 after having surgery. But Dobbins was designated for return from injured reserve Monday and will return to practice Wednesday with the hope of being able to play in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against New England at Empower Field at Mile High.

Kates, who coached Dobbins from 2013-16 at La Grange and is the head coach at Wylie High School in Abilene, Texas, said he has texted with the running back about every two weeks in the 2½ months since he was hurt. Kates had known that Dobbins’ road back to playing was going well.

“He was saying that rehab was going great,’’ Kates said. “He knows how to attack it. Unforunately, he’s suffered so many tough injuries. But compared to that, Lisfranc is nothing for him.”

A Lisfranc injury is one in which joint, bones and ligaments in the midfoot are damaged. Dobbins, who was Denver’s leading rusher in 2025 with 772 yards while playing in only the first 10 games, was hurt when tackled by Raiders defensive lineman Tyree Wilson. He thought it was an illegal hip drop tackle but a penalty wasn’t called and Wilson wasn’t fined.

Dobbins had his first significant injury when he was as senior for La Grange in 2016 and in the opener suffered ligament damage and a fractured right ankle, ending his season.

“He was such a great teammate that he was on the golf cart at practice almost every day of the season and was at every game cheering for the guys he grew up with,’’ Kates said. “Then he worked his tail off to be the best version of himself when he enrolled early at Ohio State in January (2017). And then in his first game as a true freshman he rushed for (181) yards at Indiana.”

Dobbins was relatively injury free at Ohio State from 2017-19 and also when he rushed for 805 yards as a Baltimore rookie in 2020 after being a second-round NFL pick. But Dobbins then played in just nine Ravens games over the next three seasons due to a torn ACL and a torn Achilles tendon.

“Those injuries would have been career enders for a lot of guys, especially at running back,’’ Kates said.

But Kates, who also kept in touch with Dobbins regularly during those injuries, said he has the ability to quickly put setbacks behind him and move forward.

“A normal athlete doesn’t attack (rehab) like him,’’ Kates said. “I think the natural thing is to feel sorry for yourself and I’m sure there’s a little grief for him but it doesn’t last long. He knows how to get motivated and to get in his bubble and go to work. He knows how to handle adversity and come back from it.”

Kates is hopeful Dobbins will be back for Sunday’s game, and believes he can make a big impact for the Broncos.

“I think when he’s healthy he’s as good as any back in the league,’’ Kates said. “So hopefully the Broncos can get two really good games out of him and win a dang Super Bowl.”