Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre looked hobbled walking off the field following the Vikings loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, though the injury is worse than simple aches and pains from the NFL's iron man.
Vikings coach Brad Childress said today that the quarterback has two small fractures in his left ankle which were revealed in an MRI, but he did not rule Favre out for Sunday's game at New England according to the Star Tribune's Judd Zulgad.
"Once he's functional, he can play," Childress said. "As you know he's had ankle and heel problems for a long time so that walking boot makes him a little bit more comfortable and I wouldn't rule anything out in terms of the end of the week. Don't really have a time-frame work on it."
Favre's left ankle has been a problem for quite awhile, as it is the same ankle that required surgery earlier this year and left the quarterbacks return in doubt.
Zuglad wrote that Favre was injured in the third quarter while throwing the first of his three interceptions in the Vikings' 28-24 loss at Green Bay on Sunday. Favre played the remainder of the game but was having trouble walking after the game.
Could this mean that Favre's streak of 291 consecutive games played might come to an end on Sunday?
Asked about the potential benefit of giving Favre a game off, Childress said: "He's got to be able to all the things that the position does. You can't put a guy that's a sitting duck out there. His competitive nature I'm sure will come into it but a lot of times you have to protect people from themselves. Really I'm taking it day-by-day. He's got great pain threshold and also great competitive zeal."
This will definitely be a situation to keep an eye on throughout the week as Tarvaris Jackson would be forced to start if Favre is unable to play.