EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has a broken finger on his throwing hand, an injury he suffered in Sunday's defeat at Dallas.
Jackson has what's called an avulsion fracture in the index finger on his right hand, where a ligament or muscle tendon has stretched and pulled off a tiny piece of the bone. Jackson was wearing a small splint on the finger in the locker room on Monday, and said he injured it in the third quarter when he hit his hand on another player's arm and then reinjured it near the end of the game.
"Right now, I'm just waiting for some of the swelling to go down to know exactly where it is," said Jackson, who completed only six passes for 72 yards in the 24-14 loss to the Cowboys.
Still, coach Brad Childress said Jackson remains the starter despite that ugly performance if he's deemed able to play this week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jackson said he wasn't sure how his grip of the ball would be affected.
"I can play with it. The doctor said I can play with it. It's just about me, if I can throw the football with it," Jackson said.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
