The Lions got a bit of a scare during their 31-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders in week three of the preseason Saturday night.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Kevin Smith were two of several injuries that the Lions suffered during the course of the game.
Stafford injured his non-throwing hand in the second quarter during a pass attempt to WR Titus Young. During the play Stafford’s hand came down on the helmet of Raiders defensive end David Tollefson who ended up driving the Detroit quarterback to the ground.
“Probably what would have happened in a regular season game is right after it happened, I would have up for x-rays,” Stafford said. “If they would have said they were negative, I would have come back in the game.
“It feels okay right now. It feels fine, really. It’s scary to look down and see your hand swell up by the second. “
X-Ray’s on Stafford’s hand were negative but he did have a black wrap on it which was determined that he suffered a ruptured blood vessel. The injury isn’t considered serious.
Meanwhile running back Kevin Smith was seen limping off the field in the loss but he too doesn’t consider the injury to be serious.
“My x-rays were negative,” Smith said. “It just gets scary under the pile of those big guys laying on you. It’s just a minor tweak, something I’m pretty sure I can get rid of quick. Just stay in the training room.
“More than anything, I was very scared. Just being that I had a high ankle sprain, I know how long it took to get back healthy. It’s not a high ankle sprain, so that’s positive. I’ll get in the treatment room and get back as soon as I can.”
In addition to Stafford and Smith, cornerback Chris Houston (left ankle), running back Mikel Leshoure (chest), Maurice Stovall (right arm) and cornerback Bill Bentley (shoulder) all left Saturday’s game with injuries with Stovall being the only player to return.
The players do have time to recover before the team opens up the regular season on September 9th against the St. Louis Rams.
h/t: Mlive.com