Speaking publicly for the first time since his mono diagnosis, Jets QB Sam Darnold gave an update on his health on Tuesday.

Appearing on The Michael Kay Show, Darnold explained that he's hopeful he can return for the Jets' Week 5 matchup in Philadelphia.

While Week 5 seems to make sense, with the Jets coming off their early by week, SNY's Ralph Vacchiano has noted that Darnold's absence could stretch until Week 7, based on what he's heard from doctors.

According to Darnold, he only lost two pounds during the days he felt his worst, but did everything he could to keep his weight up.

"Those two, really three days that I was super sick I was making sure that I was feeding myself even though I didn't feel like eating. I was making sure that I wasn't missing a meal," Darnold said. "I was eating snacks as much as I could, so I only lost two pounds during those days, which is good for me. I think even now, I'm almost back to normal, and I think just having my appetite back is the best thing for me. … It's hard with mono to just keep the weight on, but I'm going to do my best."

Darnold, who said he hasn't asked team doctors whether or not he can throw as of now, also spoke about the night he found out about his diagnosis from Adam Gase, and how the news was almost too unbelievable to be true.

"Obviously it was tough news, and at first I thought they were joking. I thought it was a sick joke," said Darnold. "They didn't crack a smile or anything, so I knew it was serious right away. I'll never forget that night. It sucked. But the fact that Gase come over here and wanted to break the news to me himself, it was awesome to know that we have a head coach who's a stand-up guy and he's willing to do that kind of stuff for the team.

"It sucks but it is what it is. I knew I couldn't do anything about it. I've just got to let it run its course and do everything I could to get better. Right after I heard the news I just started pounding Vitamin C and doing all of the little things that I could to try to get better."

Without Darnold under center, the Jets offense struggled mightily on Monday night, falling to Cleveland 23-3 and dropping the Jets to 0-2.

All Darnold could do was sit back and watch from home as the Jets failed to get into any rhythm all night long.

"I just watched it like a normal fan. My parents actually still came down because they were supposed to go to the game, and they still hung out with me in my room in my apartment," Darnold said.

"It was a little bit different for me watching the New York Jets from a television, but hopefully I won't have to do that too much more in my career, but it is what it is. For me, you can ask my parents, it was frustrating, especially after Trevor (Siemian) went down."

Siemian, who got the start in Darnold's place, left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, and will now miss the rest of the season due to ligament damage.

For now, the Jets' offense will be in the hands of Luke Falk, who was a member of the practice squad prior to Monday, and while Darnold explained that he felt terrible seeing Siemian leave the game, he believes in what Falk can do running the show.

"I talked to (Siemian) today," Darnold said. "When it initially happened, I actually had a little episode. I went in the room and started screaming into a pillow and was just punching my pillow as hard as I could. You never want to see that for a teammate. As soon as it happened … it looked bad. I talked to him today and he said it was one of the most painful things that he's ever been through.

"It was a bummer but it's kind of a 'next guy up' mentality for us now. Luke or whoever is in there is going to give it their best against the Pats, and then hopefully I'm going to come back against Philly and I won't have to sit out (again) the rest of the year."

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