Patriots' Brady reportedly gets stitches out

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady apparently no longer has to worry about the stitches in his throwing hand as he gets ready for Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brady had an appointment earlier this week to remove the 12 stitches on his hand, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported Sunday.

The stitches closed a gash that occurred when Brady accidentally struck teammate Rex Burkhead's helmet in a backfield collision during practice 11 days ago.

The 40-year-old Brady shook off the right hand injury and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 2:48 remaining to rally the Patriots back to the Super Bowl with a 24-20 comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship last Sunday.

All week long before the game, Brady ducked questions from the media about his hand, but he played without noticeable limitation.

"Well, I said, 'We'll see (if I play),'" Brady said while accepting the Lamar Hunt Trophy, awarded to the AFC champion, at midfield after last Sunday's game. "So how'd it go?"

New England and Philadelphia will meet in Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The Eagles head to Minneapolis on Sunday while the Patriots will hold one more home practice before traveling to the Super Bowl site on Monday.

--Field Level Media