ALLEN PARK – Josh Paschal played 52 snaps in the Detroit Lions’ win over the Minnesota Vikings last week and recorded a key sack early in the fourth quarter of a back-and-forth divisional game.

But the full-back, who has helped pick up the slack following Aidan Hutchinson’s injury, missed training this week as he suffered from what has been described as an illness.

Paschal spoke with MLive on Friday afternoon and discovered that something had come up during his annual checkups after he beat cancer while in Kentucky. The 24-year-old is aiming to return next week provided he regains his strength and full mobility.

“I just had something small that I needed to take care of this week,” Paschal said. “Fortunately it’s not something long-term. It’s just something I had to take care of. I had to turn it off.

“Of course that wouldn’t allow me to play this week. At least we weren’t 100% sure yet, but it doesn’t look like it will (play this week). But next week is the goal. But next week is a realistic goal.”

Paschal said it was nothing he noticed or felt. It just came up during his annual screening. When asked directly by MLive if everything was OK, Paschal said:

“No, that’s not (back). I just had to take care of it quickly.”

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Paschal survived a malignant melanoma that was discovered in 2018 while starring in Kentucky. He returned for three games before the end of the 2018 season, and after his release his career took off.

He always dealt with the situation openly and always said that it was the kind of challenge from which you can learn a lot, maintaining a positive attitude every step of the way. When he was drafted in the second round by the Lions in 2022, Paschal said he learned not to take anything for granted, be it life, football, waking up in the morning or whatever.

“It’s pretty hard (to deal with that). But at the same time, it’s life,” Paschal told MLive. “There’s always something that’s thrown at you. I’m glad I had the resources to deal with it. Now it’s just a matter of getting the ball back and helping this team win.

“It’s about making sure I don’t get any long-term injuries from this. Just rebuilding my strength and all that.”

Paschal thanked the Henry Ford team for helping him deal with this situation, as well as his teammates and coaches. He said everyone took great care of “Josh the man” and made sure he was mentally well.

“So I’m definitely thankful for these guys on this team and the coaches.”

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