That's how it feels. Sanders was scheduled to go through a full practice Wednesday for only the second time since suffering the injury Nov. 15. After planting his left foot and twisting to cover his man in a drill, he screamed in pain and left practice. A few hours later, a discouraged Sanders walked to his car, saying he hoped to play Sunday against Philadelphia but didn't know if he could. In this testosterone driven sport, where separated shoulders and broken bones are the occupational equivalent of paper cuts, playing through pain is required.
Surgical scars are a status symbol.
The toe isn't. Calvin Hill knows. The former Cowboys' running back missed a total of six games over the course of his career with a separated sesamoid, the bony surface that strengthens the tendons of the big toe. People minimize it because they say it's just a toe. You start to get caught up in what other people say.