Has Andrew Luck been dealing with a rib injury in addition to his shoulder?

If you recall, shortly after the Colts win over the Titans in week three, we wondered whether Andrew Luck was playing injured, and many speculated that he might have a rib injury.  Later in the week, the Colts confirmed that Luck was dealing with a shoulder injury, and the injury has kept him out of two straight games since then.

Could it be that the shoulder injury wasn't the only thing ailing Luck?  ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck - the brother of Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck - thinks so.  The Boston Globe's Ben Volin (who wrote that there are "strong rumors" that Luck is also dealing with a rib injury) spoke with Tim Hasselbeck for a recent story on Luck.

"I think it will probably come out that Andrew's been dealing with some ribs before the Tennessee game, when my brother patted him on the chest during that game," Tim Hasselbeck told Volin.  "We don't necessarily have all the information of what he's playing with.  There are a lot of players playing through stuff that people generally aren't aware of, and it prevents guys from playing their best."

This is interesting, mainly because I think that most of us just assumed that the injury that Luck was playing with was the shoulder, but could it be that he was also dealing with a rib injury?  I think it's definitely possible.  Of course, this is just speculation at this point, but that's what it was a few weeks ago too - and it was later revealed that Luck was hurt.

Here's why I think it could (emphasis on could) make sense.  The Colts adamantly said that Luck's shoulder injury happened in the game against the Titans, but many (including myself) would have guessed that it happened earlier (in the Bills game).  So that leaves us with a couple of options: either the Colts were telling the truth, the Colts were lying, or the Colts were telling the truth about one injury but not mentioning another.  It's important to note that the Colts haven't exactly been the model of truthfulness or reliability with this whole Luck saga, while it's also important to note that the Colts know the injury situation better than we do (the question is whether they'll share it publicly, to which the answer is a definitive no).  It's also possible, however, that Luck had been playing through a rib injury that had been plaguing him in the first few weeks of the season but then suffered a shoulder injury against the Titans, and since that was an injury that would cause him to miss time, the Colts had to disclose it.

Information regarding the specifics of Luck's injury have been hard to come by, and it's highly unlikely we'll learn anything of substance anytime soon either.  That leaves plenty of room for speculation, however, and some - like an ESPN analyst who is the brother of the Colts' backup quarterback - think that there was a rib injury in addition to the shoulder injury.

Either way, it seems as if Andrew Luck is on track to make his return to the field this Sunday night against the New England Patriots.  He was a full participant in practice on Friday for the first time since before the Tennessee game, and though he is officially listed as questionable, head coach Chuck Pagano said that there's a "good chance" Luck will play.