David Njoku, the 27-year-old Cleveland Browns tight end, on Wednesday shared publicly a gallery of photos to Instagram, including two that revealed the extent of his injuries from the fire.
It’s the first time David Njoku has shown in public his face in the 12 days after the incident. He’s previously been covering it, like on October 1 when he walked into Cleveland Browns Stadium wearing a beige, alien-inspired mask that covered everything but his eyes.
His social media photo did not contain a caption, but the two images he shared seemed to show the improvement of his recovery.
The first selfie was snapped as a calm-faced Njoku seated in a car, with the hood on his camouflage sweatshirt pulled up over his head. Though black sunglasses covered his eyes, the photo showed visual skin injury on his forehead, cheeks, nose, lips, and chin. In the reflection of his glasses, parallel injuries could be spotted on his right hand, while his left hand was covered in a bandage.
Njoku was all smiles in a second picture as he smiled for the picture. The irritated parts of his skin and lips had dulled seriously. His face was also shiny, apparently from sweat.
According to ESPN, Njoku’s accident happened on September 29 while he was igniting a fire pit in his backyard.
The following day, the Browns announced that the team’s tight end had been added to the team’s damage report ahead of the October 1 matchup against the Ravens. He was listed as doubtful “after sustaining burn wounds to his face and arm during a household accident,” Browns officials wrote in a message on its website.
No further details about the severity of Njoku’s injuries were given at the time.
