Washington QB Alex Smith makes 'surreal' return two years after gruesome leg fracture left him needing 17 surgeries - as Barack Obama praises him for 'fighting back' after the life-threatening injury

Washington Football Team backup quarterback Alex Smith is drawing praise from his 'friend' Barack Obama for making his return to action on Sunday nearly two years and 17 leg surgeries after suffering a gruesome compound fracture that briefly threatened to take his life.  

'And congratulations to my friend Alex Smith, for fighting back from a life-threatening injury to start at quarterback again for the Washington Football Team,' Obama wrote on Twitter. 'It's a testament to his strength, determination and the love and support of his family.' 

Although Obama wrote that he started on Sunday, Smith actually replaced an injured Kyle Allen, marking his first action since he sustained a compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula during a game in November 2018. 

Washington Football Team backup quarterback Alex Smith is drawing praise from his 'friend' Barack Obama for making his return to action on Sunday nearly two years and 17 leg surgeries after suffering a gruesome compound fracture that threatened to take his life

Although Obama wrote that he started on Sunday, Smith actually replaced an injured Kyle Allen, marking his first action since he sustained a compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula during a game in November 2018

Smith's leg became infected after his injury and most of his 17 surgeries were aimed at avoiding amputation. At one point doctors told Smith's wife that his life was in danger

Best of all, Smith's wife, Liz, and their three children were in the stands for his return

With Dwayne Haskins inactive, Smith served as the backup as Allen made his first start of the season versus the Los Angeles Rams. Allen, however, was injured prior to the two-minute warning of the first half after absorbing a hard shot to the arm from Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey while running toward the sideline.

Washington announced at halftime that Allen was cleared to return, however Smith finished the game, completing 9 of 17 attempts for 37 yards.

Best of all, Smith's wife, Liz, and their three children were in the stands for his return. 

Smith started off strong by completing 5 of 6 passes for 35 yards to set up Dustin Hopkins' 48-yard field goal as time expired to end the half. Los Angeles held a 20-10 lead at intermission.

'Very surreal at first,' Smith said. 'To have it happen as fast as it did was almost a blessing. ... Just no thinking and going and playing.

Smith, 36, also popped right up without issue after he was sacked by Aaron Donald. The sack was the first of six on Smith.

'I've been waiting on that for a long time,' Smith said of taking that first hit. 'The first one felt good. It's nice to know that you're fine and ... knock the cobwebs off so to speak.'

Alex Smith sat out for the entire 2019 season while he recuperated from the leg fracture

Smith's play on Sunday caught the eye of former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann, who saw his career end after sustaining a gruesome injury against the New York Giants in 1985.

He tweeted: 'Incredible story.'

Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera said Allen will start next Sunday versus the host Giants if he's healthy.

'I'd be lying if I said there weren't a lot of days where I didn't think it was going to happen,' Smith said of his return. 

Smith pictured alongside his wife Elizabeth

After the injury, which occurred on November 18, 2018, in a game against the Houston Texans, Smith required 17 surgeries, many of them to fight a life-threatening infection that nearly resulted in amputation. His injury and recovery were featured in an ESPN documentary released earlier this year.

In that film, Smith details his arduous journey back from his broken leg in which he suffered from necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating disease, due to a rare bacteria in his bloodstream.

'So Alex has a flesh-eating bacteria that's eating away at his leg,' Smith's wife Elizabeth said. 'He's septic and, essentially, dying. We're being inundated with medical language. Family, friends, everybody is on high emotion.'

Elizabeth described surprising exchange with a doctor before surgery that illustrated the gravity of her husband's situation: 'We're doing the best we can. And right now, our first priority is we're going to save his life. And then we're going to do our best to save his leg. And anything beyond that is a miracle.'

Smith, 36, did reveal in October 2019 that nearly half of his surgeries were aimed at removing infected tissue from his leg, but it was not until the ESPN documentary that the full extent of his ordeal was revealed.

According to Elizabeth, doctors explained that Smith's leg deteriorated quickly, turning black and blistering only hours after it appeared to be relatively normal.

Smith is carted off the field after breaking his right leg during a 2018 game at FedEx Field 

One doctor described the situation as 'more comparable to a military blast injury.'  

In order to repair the muscle damage surrounding his right tibia, doctors needed to remove part of Smith's left quad in what was considered a risky procedure. 

'We wouldn't want to try that surgery and - if it doesn't work - weaken the leg that you would have to use for the rest of your life as the strong leg,' one doctor told Smith. 

The 49ers drafted Smith with the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, and he played seven seasons in San Francisco and five with the Kansas City Chiefs before joining Washington in 2018.

Entering Sunday's game, Smith was 94-66-1 as a starter with a 62.4 percent completion rate, 34,068 passing yards, 193 touchdown passes and 101 interceptions.

Obama also congratulated LeBron James on Monday following the Lakers Game 6 win over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals on Sunday, which secured his fourth league title. 

'Proud of my friend @KingJames for his fourth title, fourth Finals MVP, and for not only living up to the hype after seventeen seasons, but surpassing it as an extraordinary leader both on the court and in the public arena fighting for education, social justice, and our democracy,' the former President wrote. 

Smith's journey back to the gridiron was detailed in an ESPN documentary earlier in 2020