Jan 5th 2009 5:55PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Injuries, NFL PlayoffsAfter missing the last two games, Anquan Boldin returned to the field Saturday against the Falcons, and he announced his presence with authority in scoring a 71-yard touchdown. On that play, however, he injured his hamstring and was unable to return after the next series.

Today, the Cardinals received news on the injury, but no definitive answer on whether or not he’ll be able to play against the Carolina Panthers this coming Saturday night.The good news is the hamstring isn’t torn. The bad news is, well, it’s a hamstring, and that injury is unpredictable.

“We’ll see how it goes this week,” (head coach Ken) Whisenhunt said at his Monday news conference.They have an able replacement in Steve Breaston, but he’s not Anquan freaking Boldin. They’ve had enough trouble heading East this season, so trying to break the trend in Carolina without one of their stars receivers would be quite the tall task.

Another layer is that there’s no way a pulled hamstring is fully healed within the time span of one week. Even if Boldin gets himself up to speed and attempts to play, the chances are quite high that he’ll reaggravate the injury during the game and have to depart.

Basically, the Cardinals and their fans should start mentally preparing to be without Boldin.