Packers linebacker Clay Matthews missed the final week of the regular season and the Wild Card loss to San Francisco after surgery to repair his broken right thumb, which involved inserting pins to immobilize the thumb.
Those pins have been removed. Matthews, who missed four games after breaking the same thumb in Week Four, said he had the pins out last Friday is ready to start moving forward with his rehab.
“I need to get healthy. Rehab my thumb and get it back to 100 percent so that way there is no setback starting next season,” Matthews said, via FOX Sports. “Little exercises as far as finger mobility. I have a physical therapist who helps with loosening up those joints because it was immobilized for so long. A lot of those ligaments and tendons become real stiff along with the surgery.”
There’s plenty of time for Matthews to work on the thumb before the Packers will be back on the field for offseason work and even more before training camp so there’s not much reason for concern about his readiness on those fronts. Finding a way to keep him there for all of next season would be a welcome development in Green Bay.