Matthew Stafford's hand injury not serious

The Detroit Lions can count themselves lucky Matthew Stafford was not more seriously injured Saturday night.

The quarterback left the preseason game in Oakland after injuring his left, non-throwing hand on a pass play but X-rays came back negative and he said in a regular-season game he probably would have returned to action, according to Anwar Richardson of MLive.com.

But it was concerning when Stafford exited in the second quarter after his hand was struck by the helmet of Raiders defensive end Dave Tollefson. Stafford has a wrap on his hand after the game and the worst thing was a blood vessel had popped in it.

“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 OK right now. It feels fine, really. It's scary to look down and see your hand swell up by the second. "

Running back Kevin Smith also reported he was fine following an ankle X-ray. He said he was relieved to learn he does not have a high ankle sprain.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune

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