Photo: USA Today Sports

As excited as we are for the fantasy football season to be back and watch our teams excel, football is a physical game. With that, injuries come.

Every Monday morning until the end of the regular season, I will be here to go over the main injuries that are impacting our fantasy teams. The projected return timelines below are projections I've created based on my clinical experience as a physical therapist combined with historical injury data that I've collected since 2017. Data that no one else has. All to give you a competitive advantage. 

Key: (Position) Player | Injury | Projected Return to Play

QB Jordan Love, Green Bay | MCL sprain (knee) | Projecting Week 4 Return

In the final moments of that game of Friday night's game in Brazil, Jordan Love went down with an injury to his left knee. There was a lot of speculation regarding the extent of Love's injury, but on Saturday, we learned that he was dealing with an MCL sprain.

The Packer's original timeline is 3-6 weeks, a typical timeline for an MCL sprain. However, looking at historical comparisons, QBs have returned closer to 2 weeks on average, while skill position players miss longer.

Every injury is different, but a promising sign would be if Love avoided IR this week. That would provide some insight that Green Bay is optimistic that Love could return in <4 weeks.  My projected return time is more aggressive than the original one provided, but until we learn more, I will lean on the data.  

QB Josh Allen, Buffalo | Left Hand Injury (Non-Throwing) | Projecting Week 2

Josh Allen appeared to injure his left (non-throwing) hand during his touchdown run on Sunday. Allen was later seen getting his hand taped and it is likely X-rays were taken to rule out a fracture. 

#Bills QB Josh Allen L hand injury.

1st clip cradles the ball, L hand gets smashed by R elbow coming down. Had it taped up on sidelines to control swelling.

Needed x-rays after game. Likely contusion, small chance for fracture, more worried about gripping for running/handoffs. pic.twitter.com/n1mF66SjY2

— Banged Up Bills (@BangedUpBills) September 8, 2024

Regardless of the extent, I expect Allen to play next week. There is a lot of data on QBs playing through injuries to their non-throwing hands/arms. Allen might have some ball security issues moving forward if his left-hand injury is serious, but not enough for fantasy managers to leave him out of lineups.