Matthew Stafford will play against the Giants next week.

Jim Caldwell’s Monday morning press conference got off to a strange start as he addressed the media with an opening statement, something he has rarely done in his time in Detroit. Anticipating a bevy of questions about Matthew Stafford, who sustained a finger injury in the first quarter of the game against the Chicago Bears, Caldwell jumped ahead of the reporters and gave a small, but important update.

“We acknowledged yesterday that he did have an issue with his finger, there’s no question, but the good thing about it is he was able to finish the game, went through it, and also that he’s going to be able to play in the next game,” Caldwell said.

While that news is not exactly unexpected, given Adam Schefter’s report of a dislocation and ligament tears, it is an important note considering the growing concern that the injury may be a tendon-related issue, which would be much more impactful on Stafford’s finger. Rest easy, Stafford will play this week.

How much he’ll be hindered by the injury remains unknown. Caldwell admitted that Stafford was affected by the injury in Sunday’s game. “It affected him some yesterday when it first happened, I think you saw that through the course of the game,” Caldwell admitted.

However, he spoke optimistically about Stafford’s ability to adjust throughout this week to the injury. “Now we have an opportunity to work with the doctors and get things straightened out that need to be straightened out. We’ll worth through it this week, and he should be ready to go.”

One of the things Stafford will likely have to work through is adjusting to playing with a glove. Stafford was constantly fidgeting with the glove on his throwing hand against the Bears, and reports are that he’ll likely be wearing one for the near future, possibly for the rest of the season. Back in 2011, Stafford had trouble adjusting to a glove after breaking a finger in a game against the Bears.

Nevertheless, the overall news is good. Matthew Stafford will continue to play and the Detroit Lions will absolutely need him down the stretch of the regular season.