When Danny Amendola landed on his shoulder during a Thursday night game against the Arizona Cardinals last month, it didn't look good.
NFL Network cameras caught the St. Louis Rams wide receiver flinging his helmet against the wall in disgust as he was led to the locker room for X-rays. Amendola had most of 2011 season wiped out by an arm injury. It wasn't hard to imagine what was going through his mind as he walked away in pain.
"I thought the worst," Amendola said, via the Rams' official website. "Obviously, I was pretty upset. Luckily it wasn't as bad as we thought, and I'm going to be able to get back out there sooner than I expected."
The injury -- a separated SC joint -- was expected to keep Amendola out as long as eight weeks. Instead, Amendola will miss three weeks before making his return Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Amendola had emerged as Sam Bradford's favorite target before he went down in Week 5. Receivers Brandon Gibson and Chris Givens each made strides during Amendola's time on the sideline.
Bradford heads into a tough assignment in San Francisco with some weapons at his disposal.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
