No pain, no gain. For Thomas Davis, those words are so much more than an overused cliché. Davis has dealt with pain throughout his entire NFL career and now with a trip to Super Bowl 50 lined up, Davis is set to face even more adversity.

Davis, a star linebacker and an even bigger leader in the Carolina Panthers’ locker room, suffered yet another injury in the Panthers’ 49-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals last weekend.

Davis went down with a broken right forearm in the first half. Davis’ surgery to repair his broken arm included 11 or 12 screws and a metal plate. Davis has shown that he fully expects to play in Super Bowl 50 and nothing is going to keep him out of his sport’s biggest stage.

Davis had previously suffered three torn ACLs in his career. A torn ACL is one of the most devastating injuries for athletes in any sport, especially football. Davis had torn his ACL in three consecutive seasons, all in the same knee. He is the only player in the league known to have recovered from tearing the ligament in the same knee three times and return to playing the sport in a later season.

Now Davis has a broken arm with only a week remaining until the biggest game of his life. Davis has battled back from so many injuries throughout his 11-year career in the NFL and the 32-year-old veteran is doing everything he can to show that he will be ready to go on Sunday.

Davis and the Carolina Panthers’ medical staff have been looking for options for how he will be able to play in the Super Bowl, just two weeks removed from a broken arm. Some of these options include a splint and cast to cover the stitches in Davis’ arm.

Davis is an emotional leader for the Carolina Panthers and is a huge difference maker when he is on the field. Davis is part of the league’s best linebacker unit, which also features star linebacker Luke Kuechly.

Kuechly led the team in tackles, but Davis finished a close second, with 105 tackles, four forced fumbles and four interceptions on the season. Davis also recorded five-and-a-half sacks on the season.

Davis told reporters that he is not just playing in the game for selfish reasons, but he believes that he can play to the best of his ability, despite the broken arm.

“Man, even bigger than me having this opportunity, I want to go out and play for my team because I know I can help the team,” Davis said. Davis did not participate in practice at all last week and with the team arriving in San Francisco for the Super Bowl, Davis plans to try to practice by the end of this week to get ready to play on Sunday.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera sounded very confident in Davis’ ability to play on Sunday, telling reporters that he is not doubting Davis.

“Believe me, there is something about his conviction, the way he looks at things,” Rivera said. “He’s one of those young men that if at all possible, he’s playing.”

The Panthers are looking to become Super Bowl champions for the first time in their 21-year history. 

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