Coach: Favre could return this season

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre isn't going onto the injured reserve list and could return this season, Coach Leslie Frazier said Tuesday.

Speculation was rampant after Favre missed Monday's 21-3 loss to the New York Giants with a sprained throwing shoulder that he had played the last game in his illustrious career -- the 41-year-old has said he will retire at the end of this season.

The missed game also snapped Favre's NFL-record 297-game consecutive appearances streak.

But Frazier said an ultrasound examination showed no nerve damage to Favre's neck and shoulder, which he injured Dec. 5 in the Vikings' win over Buffalo.

"It looks like there is a chance we're going to get him back at some point," Frazier told reporters at his weekly news conference. "We're not really thinking injured reserve at this point."

Backup quarterback Tavaris Jackson is suffering from turf toe and third-stringer Joe Webb is recovering from a hamstring pull, complicating Minnesota's signal-calling situation, Frazier said.