Chuck Pagano Comments on Andrew Luck's Injury, Matt Hasselbeck's Week 15 Status

Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Andrew Luck has not played since suffering a lacerated kidney and partially torn abdominal muscle during a Week 9 win against the Denver Broncos.

He was originally ruled out for two to six weeks, but there was no guarantee he would return within that timeframe.

Per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, Luck said he is going to play again this season and is hoping to practice this week.

However, Colts head coach Chuck Pagano told Mike Chappell of CBS4 in Indianapolis (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk) that he isn't sure if that is going to happen: "I have not heard anything like that from our trainers."

It would be amazing if Luck were to get back on the field this soon. Dr. Lewis Jacobson, chief of trauma at St. Vincent Trauma Center in Indianapolis, told Holder in November that Luck's injury is not a normal football one.

"We most commonly see this kind of injury associated with motor vehicle crashes or motorbike crashes," he said. "We do see about a half-dozen per year related to contact sports. It's just not very common. ... There might be no need for surgery, but they do require rest and preventing further injury."

According to Holder, Jacobson noted a re-injury could greatly complicate the situation.

Backup Matt Hasselbeck, who is 4-2 in six starts while filling in for Luck this season, is battling his own injury. On Monday, Chappell noted Pagano said Hasselbeck's left arm was in a sling because it "helps with spasms in [the] rib area" and praised the quarterback's toughness:

If Hasselbeck and Luck aren't healthy enough to play in Week 15, Charlie Whitehurst would likely make his first start of the season.

The 10-year veteran backup has attempted only 16 passes this year and has 10 career touchdown tosses.