John Abraham Injury: Updates on Falcons Star's Ankle

Great news for the Atlanta Falcons as John Abraham is expected to be healthy for the team's Super Bowl run.

UPDATE: Sunday, Jan. 20 at 1:43 a.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

As expected, John Abraham (ankle) is active for today's NFC Championship game against the 49ers, accoding to NBC's Darin Gantt.

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UPDATE: Sunday, Jan. 13 at 2:24 p.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Rough news for Falcons fans as John Abraham left today's game against the Seahawks due to his ankle injury, the team announced.

"

INJURY UPDATE: DE John Abraham has left the game with an ankle injury. His return is questionable. He's replaced by Cliff Matthews.

— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) January 13, 2013"

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UPDATE: Sunday, Jan. 13 at 12:03 p.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Falcons fans should be ecstatic heading into the team's Divisional round matchup against the Seahawks as John Abraham (ankle) is active, according to ESPN's Pat Yasinskas.

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Update: Monday, Jan. 7 at 10:30 p.m. ET

Falcons head coach Mike Smith claims that Abraham will be practicing on Wednesday and is likely to play for the Falcons' divisional round matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, according to an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's D. Orlando Ledbetter:

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John will be participating in practice on Wednesday. We will have almost a full boat. We won’t have everybody there.

"

The Falcons will need Abraham at full strength to contain the dynamic Russell Wilson, so this is great news for Falcons fans. Expect Abraham to play and play well on Sunday.

---End of Update---

Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith chose to play John Abraham in a meaningless football game, and the Atlanta Falcons defensive end suffered an injury.

A bum ankle forced Abraham to exit the Falcons’ Week 17 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Atlanta’s official Twitter account tweeted updates about the injury.

"

INJURY UPDATE: Starting DE John Abraham is helped off the field by two trainers, then he's carted off to the locker room. #atltb12

— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) December 30, 2012"

"

INJURY UPDATE: Confirmation that Abraham's injury is indeed his ankle. #atltb12

— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) December 30, 2012"

Abraham entered the season finale with 10 sacks on the season and six forced fumbles. Both marks were team highs. No other Falcons defender had recorded more than four sacks or forced more than two fumbles prior to Sunday’s action.

Luckily for Atlanta, it has a first-round bye locked up. But given that Abraham had to be carted off the field, a week of rest may not be enough time for his ankle to heal. And if he's unable to suit up for the Falcons in the divisional round, their pass rush will suffer tremendously.

It’s safe to say that Smith is regretting his decision not to give the 34-year-old end an extra week off.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels