The family of McKenzie Milton has spoken less than 24 hours after a gruesome injury in the UCF victory over South Florida. And by the sound of it, Milton is as tough in rehabilitation as he is on a football field.

Not only does the family call Milton’s surgery a success, but there is an implication that the face of the UCF program could be back with the team by Saturday’s American Athletic Conference title game against Memphis (not in a playing capacity).

“The Milton family would like to express gratitude for all of your thoughts, prayers and concerns,” the statement read. “McKenzie’s surgery was successful, and he is recovering well. We would like to thank the medical staffs at Tampa General Hospital, University of South Florida and the sports medicine staff at UCF for their superb care. McKenzie looks forward to joining his teammates in Orlando and supporting them in their quest to bring another conference championship to our program. Remember what Ohama means. No one gets left behind. #UCFamily.”

Milton’s status was recently upgraded to “good” following successful surgery in Tampa. UCF head coach Josh Heupel did not offer much of an update after the game, but told the media that the team was thinking of him.

"It breaks your heart for a kid that's worked so hard to go out there and compete, loves his brothers and plays for them," Heupel said.

South Florida head coach Charlie Strong along with other members of the USF staff cleared the areas as players took off their helmets and grimaced. Despite being spread on social media, the injury only was shown in real time, with one reply and not looped ad nauseum, as often happens with injuries.

The training staff quickly tended to the junior quarterback before the entire UCF team gathered around their leader after becoming acutely aware of the severity of the injury. A cart eventually drove Milton to the locker room with teammates providing their well wishes before his exit from the field. For his part, Milton was showed giving the audience a ‘thumbs-up’ from the back of the cart. ESPN reported at halftime that Milton was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

UCF entered play this weekend ranked No. 9 in the College Football Playoff standings, though the loss of Milton is certainly -- though less importantly -- impact that.

The Knights placement at No. 9 in the rankings released Tuesday was the highest spot by a Group of 5 member in the history of the CFP, but director Bill Hancock said Milton's injury would change that.

"First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers are with McKenzie Milton and his family," Hancock told ESPN. "I do understand that some people want to talk football tonight. So pivoting to that, the committee does consider injuries that may have affected a team's performance during the season. Obviously, UCF continued to play well after McKenzie left the ballgame. The committee also does not project what might happen next week. They only evaluate what has happened to this point in the season."

Stay tuned to 247Sports for more as Milton continues his recovery process.