Rodgers: Injury isn’t ‘COVID toe’
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says his toe injury is a fracture and added that he doesn’t expect the situation to cause him to miss any games.
The league MVP has been playing with the toe injury each of the last two games after missing a 13-7 loss to the Chiefs because of a positive COVID-19 test. He said the injury occurred while working out at home during his quarantine.
“I’m going to deal with the pain,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “It’s all about pain management . ... I’ll try to be on the practice field as much as I can, deal with the pain, and the goal is to play every single week.”
The NFC North-leading Packers (8-3) host the Rams (7-3) on Sunday and then have the next week off.
Rodgers on Wednesday disputed a report that he had “COVID toe,” a name that’s been given to a condition causing lesions among some people who test positive for COVID.
While discussing his health Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube and SiriusXM, Rodgers said he “didn’t have any lingering effects other than the COVID toe,” but he was smirking as he made that comment.
When he was asked about it Wednesday, Rodgers revealed his bare left foot during his Zoom session with reporters.
“Oh, there’s no lesions whatsoever,” Rodgers said. “Oh, what a surprise. No, that’s actually called disinformation, when you perpetuate false information about an individual.”
The Vikings said three-time Pro Bowl DE Everson Griffen emerged from his home without incident and was receiving care for his mental health after he called 911 fearing an intruder and spent most of the day refusing to leave while law enforcement and team representatives tried to diffuse the situation. The Vikings sent psychologists to Griffen’s house to work with police on guiding him through another alarming mental health situation. Griffen, 33, who took a leave from the team in 2018 for mental health treatment, had posted on Instagram screenshots of middle-of-the-night text messages to his agent, Brian Murphy, that were pleas for help because he said people were trying to kill him. Griffen also posted a video depicting him with a gun that he said was purchased legally. Those posts have since been deleted.
Baseball: Reliever Wade Davis, a three-time All-Star who has 141 saves in 13 seasons, will retire. The 36-year-old Davis clinched the World Series title for the Royals in 2015 with a game-ending strikeout.
Colleges: Minnesota RB Mohamed Ibrahim announced that he will return next season. Ibrahim, a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a junior in 2020, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the Golden Gophers’ season opener . ... A statue on the University of Michigan campus of legendary football coach Bo Schembechler was vandalized with paint, and a message supporting sexual assault victims of a former sports doctor has been scrawled on the steps beneath it.
Soccer: Karim Benzema was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence and an $84,000 fine for his involvement in the attempted blackmail of former teammate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape. Benzema’s lawyer said the 33-year-old Real Madrid player will appeal the verdict.