Detroit Lions LB Alex Anzalone Shares Gnarly Photo of Broken Forearm

Before returning to action on Sunday, January 5, the Detroit Lions star Alex Anzalone it showed the horrific journey it took to get there.

Hours before pit’s a team Sunday Night Football a fight with the Minnesota Vikings at Detroit’s Ford Field, Anzalone, 30, posted a photo via his Instagram Story of his broken arm after surgery.

“Everybody wanna be a dog, until you gotta do some dog s—,” Anzalone wrote alongside a photo of his left arm stitched up.

Anzalone broke his left arm after colliding with a teammate Brian Branchhelmet in the Lions’ game on November 17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Related: Lions’ Dan Campbell Yells Out Player For Puking During Postgame Speech

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images It was a stressful and nauseating night for Detroit Lions fans – and one of their players too. After the Lions’ dramatic 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers in Detroit on Thursday, December 5, head coach Dan Campbell gave a rousing postgame speech in the Ford Field locker room as (…)

According to the Detroit Free PressAnzalone has a metal plate under the scar on his arm. Anzalone underwent surgery a week after his injury.

He returned to the lineup Sunday, six weeks after surgery, to help the Lions defeat the Vikings 31-9 and earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs. They also clinched the NFC North division for the second straight season.

“Any time you get hurt or deal with adversity, mentally it’s an opportunity to grow,” Anzalone told reporters after the game. “I feel like I’ve grown in different ways. You get the game taken away from you, and when you come back, it’s a blessing to play again.”

After missing the Lions’ previous six games, Anzalone said the win over the Vikings was “a statement.” Detroit’s head coach Dan Campbell praised his returning linebacker for the jolt his presence gave the team.

“His comeback was huge,” Campbell, 48, told reporters. “Look, I’ve said it before, he’s really our quarterback on defense. He has a lot of confidence, a lot of energy. He can calm the storms. I thought it was going to take him a minute to work himself back in, and it didn’t take long at all. He was back to what he was before he was injured.”

When Anzalone returned from the game, he shared a message with his wife, Lindsey Anzalonewrote on a dry erase board for him.

Related: Why David Montgomery of the Detroit Lions Ate a Carrot After the Thanksgiving Game

Running back David Montgomery had good reason to hilariously pick up a carrot instead of a turkey leg after the Lions’ Thanksgiving Day win. Montgomery, 27, was seen by CBS cameras munching on a celebratory carrot instead of the usual turkey after the Lions’ 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday, (…)

“Welcome home!” Lindsey wrote, in a photo Alex posted via her Instagram Story. “We are so proud of you!”

Alex captioned the photo, “My why ❤️.”

The couple, who married in June 2019, share two children: a son Cooper3, and a daughter Carter14 months.

After their first-round bye, Anzalone and the Lions will return to action during the NFL Divisional Playoffs, which begin Saturday, January 18, as Detroit tries to win its first Super Bowl in franchise history.