The Green Bay Packers are forgoing surgery on Aaron Rodgers for the time being. So despite gala against the Chicago Bears, the quarterback’s toe remains a risk factor – and a game with fire on the road to the Super Bowl.

Munich – The Green Bay Packers’ offence is in top form at the moment.

In the past two games, Aaron Rodgers and Co. scored a total of 81 points – the high-power offence from last year is finally back. From a sporting point of view, the quarterback in particular is beyond reproach.

Nevertheless, a topic has been haunting Green Bay for weeks that has caused one or two worry lines. Rodgers is plagued by a long-term toe injury, which also made itself felt after the Bears win.

Rodgers: “Definitely a setback “

“It feels worse again,” the quarterback said after the game. “I don’t know how big the setback is yet, but it definitely feels like one,” Rodgers admitted. A fracture in the 38-year-old’s pinky toe was actually supposed to heal over Bye Week.

Officials, in consultation with Rodgers, decided against surgery, which probably would have cost him a game at most in the worst-case scenario. Since Rodgers needs his feeling in his toe to not lose his posture during the throwing motion, doctors also can’t give him a pain blocker in his toe.

So he played against the Bears again in pain, which now seems to have gotten much worse. Even an operation has suddenly become a possibility again: “That is definitely only the last option. But first we have to see how big the setback is,” said the playmaker.

An examination on Monday should provide further results on how to proceed.

Packers’ options are limited

First and foremost, the Packers should hope Rodgers once again proves his incredible fighting spirit. The – probably unavoidable – surgery is to be postponed until spring, in the best case until after the Super Bowl in early February.

The Packers actually already let the option to perform an early surgery pass. With a procedure right at the beginning of the bye week, Rodgers probably wouldn’t have missed a game either, but the risk of a longer absence was too high for those involved.

While the plan seemed to be working before the Bears scrimmage, the omens have changed. Even before the game, Rodgers mentioned to the Locked on Packers blog that he would likely need immediate intervention should someone step on his foot. The damage would then be too great to simply continue to ignore him.

While he was able to avoid such a scenario against the Bears, his post-game statements offer little hope for improvement. Despite the sporting success, the situation around Rodgers remains critical – and hovers like a sword of Damocles over a possible Super Bowl run by the Packers.

Super Bowl run only with Rodgers

In order to win the title in the end, the team needs their superstar quarterback in top form in the playoffs – playfully as well as physically. If the Packers don’t get the Rodgers injury under control, it could play a crucial role in the postseason.

NFL insider Adam Schefter recently reported that Packers doctors already expect Rodgers to be hampered for the rest of the season.

So the question will be whether the team can keep its most important player fit enough so that the pain doesn’t affect athletic results – like against the Bears. Even though Rodgers is considered one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league, the pain threshold is likely to be reached at some point for the reigning MVP.

Mahomes as a cautionary tale?

The Packers should use Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs as a cautionary tale here. The superstar suffered multiple injuries last season that hampered him throughout the playoffs.

The low point then was the Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, of all teams, when Mahomes barely found his way into the game and never really got into a rhythm. In the end, the Lombardi Trophy went to Florida. A scenario that the Packers want to avoid with all their might.

They still have the opportunity to stabilise the toe via minor surgery at the cost of a few possible defeats in the regular season. If they continue to take risks and let Rodgers take the field with the injury, the season could end in one fell swoop – it remains a game with fire.