Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss Thursday’s game against the Detroit Lions with a hairline fracture in his right hand, head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters Tuesday.
McCarthy appeared to injure his hand near the end of the first half of Sunday’s 16-13 win over the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. He was hit hard by Giants pass rusher Brian Burns and fumbled the ball. Giants safety Tyler Nubin returned the fumble for a touchdown.
Further imaging beyond an initial X-ray showed what O’Connell called “a very, very small hairline fracture.”
The Vikings coach said he did not think the injury would require surgery.
“Recovery is kind of similar to a bone bruise,” O’Connell said.
Whether McCarthy, the Vikings’ first-year starter, plays in the final week of the season — a visit from the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 4 — will be determined at a later date.
“He’s dialed in,” O’Connell said. “He wants to stay 100 percent locked and loaded in the hopes of returning next week, hopefully. But obviously we’re gonna be smart with him and see where it takes it.”
This marks the third time this season McCarthy will have missed time with an injury. He missed five games after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 2, returning a week earlier than initially anticipated. He then sat out a sixth game while in concussion protocol following a Week 12 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
He also missed all of last season due to surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee.
O’Connell had high praise for the 22-year-old out of Michigan amid the injuries.
“I’ve been really, really happy and proud of the way J.J. — through the kind of final stanza of the season here — has really, really took some big steps and grown, and it’s been a blast being with him every day and kind of being along that ride with him,” O’Connell said.
“Although we’ve lost time to continue that throughout the season, and we’re experiencing it again here on a fast opportunity-type short week, that doesn’t take away from the growth we’ve seen from J.J.”
McCarthy completed 9 of 14 passes for 108 yards and an interception Sunday before his injury. He also ran for a 12-yard touchdown with two minutes left in the first half.
Overall, McCarthy has passed for 1,450 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in nine games this season. He also has rushed for four scores.
Following the injury, he was replaced by rookie Max Brosmer, who O’Connell said will start the Christmas Day matchup against the Lions in Minneapolis.
