Detroit Lions' Alex Anzalone: 'I'll be OK' for next playoff game after injuring shoulder
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone said he plans to play through whatever pain he's experiencing in this week's divisional playoff game after missing snaps in Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Rams.
"It’s going to probably be a little sore but this is Week 19," Anzalone told the Free Press after the game. "You’re fighting through everything so I’ll be OK."
Anzalone injured his shoulder midway through Sunday's fourth quarter after tackling Rams running back Ronnie Rivers out of bounds on a screen play. Anzalone started the game with a harness on his right shoulder.
He missed four snaps in the second half with his injury, and led the Lions with eight tackles and two tackles-for-loss.
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Lions coach Dan Campbell said Anzalone, who had a career-high 129 tackles this season and is the nerve center of the Lions defense, showed up for treatment on Monday's off day and left "better than he walked in."
"And that’s what you’re looking for," Campbell said. "Look, Alex is tough. He’s been through this. And it does, it means a lot. I mean, that’s — that’s really what we’re built off here and ultimately, it comes down to what the player believes they can do. If they believe they can still produce not being 100 percent, then that’s the difference and we have a ton of guys that are that way."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Alex Anzalone: 'I'll be OK' after hurt shoulder vs. LA
