| | JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Another day of healing had Jaguars
quarterback Mark Brunell believing he'll be back to near full
health by playoff time.
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| Brunell |
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| Fiedler |
Brunell strained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee
Sunday. An MRI revealed a sprain but no significant damage.
While he's not participating in practice this week and won't
play against the Bengals on Sunday, Brunell said Wednesday that the
injury wasn't as serious as some first suspected.
"I think I could be very close to 100 percent by playoff
time," Brunell said. "Right now, it's not as stable as it would
be if it were 100 percent. But I can walk, move around a little.
It's a little sore right now, but not as bad as it was a couple
of days ago."
He said he can see the similarities to last year, when a high
ankle sprain kept him out of the last three regular-season games,
then forced him to return to the playoffs at only about 70 percent.
"But this is a sprain, a light strain," Brunell said. "It's
nothing like I had in my ankle last year. It's not nearly as bad as
the ankle."
Brunell also suffered a slight tear in the MCL his right knee in
1997, part of a larger injury that forced him to miss the first two
games of the season. He said he also suffered an MCL injury in
college and that the latest injury was less severe than either of
the previous ones.
Coach Tom Coughlin says the team is gearing Brunell for a
comeback the weekend of Jan. 15, the second week of the playoffs.
It means a victory Sunday, which would clinch the AFC Central and a
first-round bye, is critical for the Jaguars.
"Mark's a tough guy," Coughlin said. "He knows what the
timetable is. He's well aware of it."
Jay Fiedler will get his first NFL start in Brunell's absence this Sunday.
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