Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone reveals extent of hand injury that caused him to miss Saints' game

Injury was added to insult for the Detroit Lions late on Thanksgiving Day against the Green Bay Packer when linebacker Alex Anzalone suffered a hand injury. He wound up missing last Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, and as a competitor in the midst of his best season he certainly wanted to play against his former team.

Anzalone also had his second child last Wednesday, so it was quite the week for him and his family last week. And let's not forget how his parents had been stuck in Jerusalem as the conflict in the Middle East ramped up back in October. So it's been a pretty wild couple of months for him, truly.

In the locker room after Wednesday's practice, which he was a full participant in by the way, Anzalone talked to Ben Raven of MLive about missing the game against the Saints.

"You guys know how much that meant to me,” Anzalone said. “But, yeah, I guess there was just a silver lining in all of it. God gave me just enough injury to not have me try to play that game. Dan (Campbell) and everyone did a good job taking care of me, too. Making sure I was able to focus on my family."

Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone reveals extent of injury that cost him game against the Saints

Per Raven, Anzalone said he doesn't know when the injury happened against the Packers.

"I have, honestly, no clue. I don’t even remember the play. I just remember looking at my thumb and it kept sliding in and out. Put it back in, then it would come back out. Got a screw in it, good to go.” "Just had to get a screw in it".

Anzalone has surgery to get the screw put into his hand on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, then doctors induced his wife's labor on Wednesday.

"Had surgery on Sunday (after Thanksgiving),” Anzalone said in the locker room on Wednesday. “And then, you know, we induced on Wednesday, so it’s, yeah, it’s been tough but a blessed week, I would say. There’s a lot of different elements. A lot of different moving parts. But we were able to get it done and figure it out.”

Anzalone may have missed last Sunday's game to be with his wife and new baby anyway. But any question about the extent of his injury, not that there should've been any, can be put to rest. The man had a screw put into his thumb, and it sounds like he'll be wearing a customized brace when he can return to action.