David Andrews had surgery on broken thumb this week

[Rusher]

Getty Images

Patriots center David Andrews has missed practice time with a right hand injury this week and Friday brought word about the precise nature of the injury.

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports that Andrews broke his thumb and had surgery to repair it. Reporters at Patriots practice noted that Andrews tried snapping with his left hand as a way of staying in the lineup, but Glazer reports he’s likely to miss at least this weekend’s game.

If Andrews is out, 2019 fourth-round pick Hjalte Froholdt could get the start in his place. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick discussed Froholdt’s progress during his Friday press conference.

“He had a good offseason in terms of training and being healthy and he’s been able to be out on the field every day and work hard and continue to get better on a daily basis since we’ve had the opportunity to begin practicing,” Belichick said. “So, way ahead of where he was last year on a number of levels. He’s still a young player that has a lot of room to grow and works very hard at it, so he’s taken a step to, as you said, being close to playing and hopefully he’ll be able to compete for playing time here as he continues to improve.”

The Patriots will release their injury report for the game against the Raiders on Friday afternoon.