Alex Anzalone
Kevin Sabitus/Getty ImagesBefore returning to action on Sunday, Jan. 5, the Detroit Lions are a star Alex Anzalone showed the harrowing journey it took to get there.
Hours before thehis team Sunday night football showdown with the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field in Detroit, Anzalone, 30, posted a photo via his Instagram Story of his broken forearm after surgery.
“Everybody wants to be a dog until you have to do some dog s-,” Anzalone wrote alongside a photo of his stitched up left arm.
Anzalone broke his left forearm after colliding with a teammate Brian Branchslam in the Lions’ Nov. 17 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Gregory Schamus/Getty Images It was a stressful, nausea-inducing night for Detroit Lions fans — and one of their players, too. Following the Lions’ dramatic 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers in Detroit on Thursday, December 5, head coach Dan Campbell gave a rousing postgame speech in the Ford Field locker room as (…)
According to Detroit Free PressAnzalone has a metal plate under his forearm scar. Anzalone underwent surgery a week after sustaining the injury.
He returned to the lineup Sunday, six weeks after surgery, to help the Lions beat the Vikings 31-9 to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs. They also won the NFC North division for the second straight season.
“Any time you get hurt or face adversity, mentally it’s an opportunity to grow,” Anzalone told reporters after the game. “I feel like I’ve grown in different ways. You take the game away and when you come back it’s a blessing to play again.”
After missing the Lions’ previous six games, Anzalone said the win over the Vikings was a “statement.” Head coach of Detroit Dan Campbell praised his returning defender for the impact his presence has given the team.
“His comeback was huge,” Campbell, 48, told reporters. “Look, I’ve said it before, he really is our quarterback on defense. There’s a lot of confidence that he brings, a lot of energy. He can calm storms. I thought it would take him a minute to get back to work, and it didn’t take long at all. He’s back to what he was before he got hurt.
When Anzalone returned from the game, he shared a message with his wife, Lindsay Anzalonehad written on a dry erase board for him.
Detroit Lions quarterback David Montgomery had good reason to cheerfully grab a carrot instead of a turkey leg after the Lions’ Thanksgiving victory. Montgomery, 27, was spotted on CBS cameras munching on a celebratory carrot instead of the usual turkey after the Lions’ 23-20 win over the Chicago Bears on Thursday, (…)
“Welcome home!” Lindsay captioned a photo posted by Alex via his Instagram story. “We are so proud of you!”
Alex captioned the photo, “My why ❤️.”
The couple, who married in June 2019, share two children: a son Cooper3 and a daughter Carter14 months.
After their first-round bye, Anzalone and the Lions will return to action during the NFL divisional playoffs, which begin Saturday, Jan. 18, as Detroit attempts to win its first Super Bowl in franchise history.
