Four players from the Green Bay Packers did not practice as they returned to the field on Thursday. One was AJ Dillon, a seasoned running back who had a broken thumb.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: Following practice on Thursday, Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon revealed that he had broken his thumb during the team’s Monday night loss to the New York Giants.
Dillon stated, “I got hit – just routine play,” while wearing a brace or protective band over his right hand. Football is the way it works. struck with a helmet positioned correctly. After that, we called another run play.
Despite the injury, Dillon continued to play in the last series.
That illustrates how tough he is. It’s regrettable. It kind of took us off guard,” head coach Matt LaFleur remarked.
Dillon was one of four players that didn’t practice on Thursday; they were all important guys.
Dillon has played in 51 straight games without missing one due to injury throughout his career, but his availability for Sunday’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is uncertain.
“There are still a few days in the week,” he stated.
With Aaron Jones out due to a knee injury, Dillon was becoming comfortable. He has 81 scrimmage yards against Detroit, 87 against Kansas City, and 78 against New York in the last three games. He made a thunderous 35-yard reception to beat the Giants.
Despite averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, he leads the club in rushing yards with 574 and, with his recent improvement, has a chance to surpass his career high of 803 yards established in 2021.
With a knee ailment that kept him out of the last three games, Jones resumed practicing and looks certain to play on Sunday. It’s obvious that Dillon’s prospective return couldn’t come at a better time, considering his prognosis.
“We’re still sort of working through that.” We have our regular Friday practice tomorrow, so I think we’ll have a clearer indication,” LaFleur stated.
On Wednesday, the team did not practice. Had it not happened, Dillon would not have played, nor would linebacker Quay Walker (shoulder), safety Darnell Savage (shoulder), receiver Christian Watson (hamstring), and tight end Dontayvion Wicks (ankle).
Wicks, who sustained an injury in the fourth quarter, and Walker, who was out the previous week, returned to the field. However, there was a wide range in their amount of participation throughout the media section. Walker was performing his typical reps during the solo drills. Wicks stood behind Jayden Reed, Samori Toure, and Malik Heath during the initial phase of receivers collecting passes from quarterbacks.
At the commencement of practice on Thursday, Savage (shoulder), Dillon (thumb), Watson (hamstring), and left guard Elgton Jenkins (shoulder) remained inside the Don Hutson Center.
Although LaFleur didn’t anticipate Watson to practice on Friday, the second-year receiver was hopeful that his current hamstring injury would not keep him out of the game for very long.
“I feel fantastic. I’m pretty happy with where I am in my recuperation,” he remarked. “I often tell myself this when I return from something like this, but you have to simply take things day by day. However, I’m pretty happy with where I am right now. It has felt pretty fantastic on a few of my days.
