NFL insider reveals new details about Aaron Rodgers' nagging thumb injury

Aaron Rodgers has been playing through a right thumb injury for several weeks now, and the severity of the nagging ailment has now been revealed.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback suffered an avulsion fracture of the thumb, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The injury was suffered last month during the Packer’s trip to London and in most cases, does require surgery to heal.

Unfortunately for Rodgers, the injury – which is caused by extreme blunt force causing the, ‘ligament to rip away from the attachment’ – is on his throwing hand. The injury can effect everything Rodgers does as a quarterback, though the reigning two-time NFL MVP has yet to miss a game for it this season.

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“I think I’ve had worse injuries I’ve played with,” Rodgers told reporters this week. “There would be a couple plays every game, maybe a snap slightly inside or a hit that might jolt it a little bit. Just dealing with the occasional kind of dull pain and working through it.”

Rodgers added that the injury simply isn’t healing on the pace he would have hoped for, and in turn, Rodgers is on pace for one of the worst seasons of his career record-wise and statistically.

Rapoport’s sources believe that surgery is the most likely option for Rodgers, but that wouldn’t come until after the season, or perhaps if the Packers were to be eliminated from playoff contention early.

Luckily for the Packers, however, most of the rest of the NFC are having down seasons as well and Green Bay sits just 2.5 games back from the final wild card slot despite their 4-7 overall record.

Rodgers will be back in action once again for Sunday Night Football against the NFL’s best, the 9-1 Philadelphia Eagles. It’s the perfect opportunity for the Packers to get back on track and firmly place themselves in the hunt for a wild card spot. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET live from Philadelphia on NBC.