Steven Jackson vows to play despite broken finger
St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson celebrated breaking the franchise record for rushing yards last Sunday by having pins put into his broken finger. Jackson sat out team practice on both Wednesday and Thursday, but has stated that he will certainly
be in the lineup on Sunday when the Rams play host to the Carolina Panthers.
"Absolutely, I will definitely be out there Sunday," Jackson said. "The surgery went fine. Everything went well. It's unfortunate it had to happen. It's on the left hand, so it's not a big deal as if it was my right hand."
When asked whether or not he would work out with the team on Friday, Jackson responded by saying, "I don't see why not. First thing, we want to make sure infection doesn't happen. Pain is going to occur. That's something we're not trying to avoid. That's
not something we're thinking won't happen. Pain will be part of the game Sunday."
Before game time Jackson will look into a variety of measures to protect his hand. "We're going to experiment with a couple of different things," Jackson said. "It will be some sort of soft cast to protect the ring finger. It won't be a club. Something that's
functional that will allow me carry the ball, catch the ball and hold the ball. We'll play around with it. We'll see what we come up with."
Jackson has been an important factor in keeping the Rams in the hunt so far this season. Now in his seventh year, Jackson has run 617 yards so far this season – good enough for fifth in the NFL.
Head coach Steve Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur are both optimistic that Jackson will be able to return despite being limited in practice during the week.
"Steven has displayed an ability to play extremely well with limited practice. So, that's kind of the approach we're taking at this point," Shurmur said. "With a warrior-type player like Steven, it's not as much of a concern as it would be a player who's
dealing with his first injury."
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