Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols played the last month of the season with a broken ring finger on his throwing hand.
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Nichols told reporters about the injury on Monday – less than 24 hours after his team was eliminated from the playoffs. He broke the bone on Oct. 6 during the Bombers’ home game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“That first week of practice was pretty brutal,” Nichols said.
“Luckily, the finger was one of the least important for a quarterback. Had it been a broken bone in one of my top fingers or thumb, it probably would have been more difficult.”
Nichols admitted he felt extreme pain anytime he applied pressure on the ball or when it left his hand. Despite the discomfort, he doesn’t believe the injury hindered him.
“It didn’t affect the ball coming off my hand because it’s the last finger to leave it,” Nichols said. “With the glove I was wearing, it gave me a little grip that I needed.”
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Nichols also strained his calf late in Winnipeg’s loss to the Toronto Arognauts on Oct. 21. The injury forced him to leave the following game in the first quarter and kept him out of the Bombers’ regular-season finale.