Aaron Rodgers left the Packers' Week 11 loss to the Vikings with a "very, very painful toe injury," and now we have a diagnosis for the ailment from the best source of all ... Rodgers himself.
The reigning MVP ended speculation that he was dealing with "COVID toe." Rodgers told -- and showed -- reporters on Wednesday that he suffered a fractured toe working out at home during his quarantine and that is could eventually require surgery.
On Tuesday, while appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said he didn't have any lingering effects from his recent bout with COVID-19, except for "COVID toe." Rodgers and McAfee both laughed at the description in between jokes about the quarterback's COVID quarantine, so it's unclear if Rodgers was actually describing his condition. But "COVID toe" is a real medical condition, as the Wall Street Journal reported, and would theoretically be painful to overcome.
"Covid Toe is a casual name for something medically known as pernio or chilblains, which is a condition that causes symptoms as discoloration and lesions," Andrew Beaton wrote this week. "It can be extremely painful and turn the toes purple."
Rodgers, for what it's worth, doesn't appear too worried about his status for this Sunday's game against the Rams. He previously indicated his foot injury was aggravated during Green Bay's loss to Minnesota, not because of COVID but an opposing player.
"Got stepped on the first half, and that kind of activated all the symptoms I was having," Rodgers told reporters afterward. "It's going to be another painful week and next week, and then hopefully (I'll) start to feel a little better on the bye."
Rodgers missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday before the Packers' game against the Vikings but returned as a limited participant on Friday. Green Bay will have its bye in Week 13, after this Sunday's showdown with Los Angeles.