Matthew Stafford Injury: Lions Quarterback Leaves Game with Hand Injury

Matthew Stafford left the preseason game versus the Oakland Raiders with a left-hand injury.

Update: August 27 at 9:30 a.m. ET by Alex Kay

ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that Matthew Stafford sustained a broken blood vessel in his left (non-throwing) hand, but should be perfectly fine for the Detroit Lions opening game of the season against the St. Louis Rams.

"

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford broke a blood vessel in his left hand but still expects to be ready for Detroit's regular-season opener.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 27, 2012"

Stafford hurt the hand against the Oakland Raiders on Saturday and came out of the contest immediately. He could have reportedly returned to action, but the coaching staff exercised caution with a player with a history of serious injuries. 

Keep it tuned here on B/R for the latest news, updates, opinions and analysis on Stafford's left hand injury.

----END OF UPDATE----

Update: August 25 at 11:05 p.m.

Anwar Richardson of MLive.com is reporting via his twitter feed that Stafford could have gone back into the game. 

"

#Lions QB Matthew Stafford said he is fine and could have finished the game #NFL

— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) August 26, 2012"

Stafford's injury is not as serious as it could have been. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press had more on the situation:

"

Xrays on stafford negative

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) August 26, 2012"

This is good news for the Lions as losing Stafford for any length of time will hurt their chances at the division.

Keeping him out of the game could have been a preventative measure by head coach Jim Schwartz to make sure that his quarterback was ready for the start of the year.

According to the official Detroit Lions Twitter feed, Matt Stafford is questionable to return to the Oakland game.

"

Stafford with a left hand injury - return questionable. #DETatOAK

— Detroit Lions (@DetroitLionsNFL) August 26, 2012"

This would be a huge blow to the Lions if it were his throwing hand. However, because Stafford is right-handed, it shouldn't be too much to worry about.

According to Tim Twentyman, the wrap around his hand is pretty serious.

"

Stafford has a pretty heavy wrap around his left hand. He's laughing and talking to Linehan on sideline, though. At least it's the left.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) August 26, 2012 If it is completely broken and he does miss some time, the Lions could be in danger of starting the season with a couple of losses."

While it's unclear how serious the injury is, the last thing Lions fans want to see is their star QB injured in a preseason game.

Stay tuned for the latest updates regarding Stafford's injury.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist and Trends and Traffic Writer for Bleacher Report. As a Featured Columnist, he covers the Atlanta Falcons, NFL and NFL draft. He is also the Falcons analyst at Drafttek, runs the NFL draft website ScarDraft.com and hosts Kvetching Draftniks Radio.

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