Brady said Monday that he would have the 12 stitches in his right (throwing) hand removed in the coming days, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports. "Hopefully some time this week. And at that point, again, because I was fortunate not to tear any ligaments or anything like that [after injuring the hand in practice last week] -- there was no broken bones -- that was obviously the best news I could ever hear based on what you thought it could be," Brady told the "Kirk and Callahan Show." "It ended up being a lot of good luck after, I'd say, a pretty unlucky injury. It turned out to be a lot [of] good luck it wasn't more serious than it was."
Brady was listed as questionable heading into Sunday's AFC championship game after teammate Rex Burkhead ran into him during practice earlier this week, resulting in a gash to the quarterback's hand that required stitches to seal up. The hand -- in addition to the first-half departure of top target Rob Gronkowski to a concussion -- ultimately proved to be no issue for Brady, who rallied the Patriots from a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit and finished with 26 completions on 38 attempts for two touchdowns and no interceptions. With his stitches set to be removed well in advance of the Patriots' Feb. 4 Super Bowl matchup with the Eagles, Brady isn't expected to experience any discomfort as he pursues his sixth NFL title.