The Arizona Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson lost the tip of a finger in a bizarre game injury that had many 49er fans thinking about NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott.
While Lott choose to have the tip of his pinky finger amputated in a hospital, Johnson lost his in the middle of a game.
Johnson says he doesn't know how it happened. He told reporters he was on punt return and thinks his finger was somehow caught in the field itself.
He said he noticed his hand felt was numb, and then saw blood dripping from his glove so he went to the sidelines and told a trainer he may have broken a finger nail.
When the trainer took his glove off, the tip was “pretty much severed,” and stayed inside the glove.
Johnson Tweeted graphic photos of the injury saying, "#thefinger Blessed to be able to still go out and do what I love this season. #thankful #trulyblessed #birdgang." Click here for GRAPHIC photos.
"I was more upset I couldn't return to the game than I was about my finger,'' Johnson said. "It was a 7-7 game at the time and I wanted to be out there with my teammates."
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Johnson's middle finger is now about the same length as his index finger.
"At the end of the day, I got nine more," Johnson said. Adding, "The middle finger probably wouldn't have been used for anything good anyway.''
It also brings back memories of Ronnie Lott's decision to have the tip of his finger removed in 1985 so that he could recover from an injury faster.
