Clay Matthews will look different the next time you see him on the field for the Green Bay Packers.
Gone will be the padded club cast -- or as Dameshek put it, the Thor hammer -- that protected his injured right thumb against the Philadelphia Eagles. In its place will be a smaller, far less restrictive brace that protects the thumb, but allows the Pro Bowl linebacker to move his other fingers, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The club hindered Matthews greatly in Week 10. He often appeared frustrated and finished with just one solo and two assisted tackles in the game.
Matthews returned to the lineup after missing four weeks with a Bennett's fracture to his thumb, suffered on Oct. 6. When he steps on the field Sunday, it will mark six weeks of recovery time. Three specialists told the Journal Sentinel that six weeks is seen as the healing time for this type of injury.
"Based on the doctor's report, he's able to now, I don't even know what the term is," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think this is a normal path. It starts to decrease each week."
In other words, Matthews should be close to his old self, potentially as soon as Sunday at the Meadowlands. The Aaron Rodgers-free Packers certainly could use the lift.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" previewed "Thursday Night Football" and "stuck a fork" in the Bills' 2013 chances.
