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John Mateer injury update: Oklahoma QB seen practicing without wrap on thumb

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh9 hours agogriffin_mcveigh

John Mateer has remained careful with his thumb after returning from surgery back in mid-October. More times than not, the Oklahoma quarterback has been spotted with a wrap on his right hand for protection. Mateer has maintained he is healthy but at the same time, he was recovering from surgery.

Monday brought something different as OU prepares for the College Football Playoff first-round matchup vs. Alabama. Mateer was seen without anything on his right hand during practice. Media members were allowed to view a portion of the period, with Willie Gillespie of OU Daily capturing video of Mateer throwing passes.

Eddie Radosevich of On3 | Rivals’ Sooner Scoop was later asked about Mateer’s tape. Oklahoma has not let media members view practice since before the season began. However, Mateer did show up to mid-week interviews with some kind of wrap on his right hand.

“Practice hasn’t been open since August(!) lol,” Radosevich said via X. “But great point I honestly didn’t even think about. I think he did. Usually had it on during post practice interviews on Monday — or at least had the outline of the wrap from what I can remember.”

Mateer has been a full-go ever since returning from thumb surgery. However, going out there without any kind of wrap could be seen as a major boost for Oklahoma. They will be hoping to get similar results to what we saw in the first four weeks of the season.

Kickoff from Owen Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Friday night. It’s a rematch of one of the SEC’s most entertaining games of the year. Alabama comes to town looking for revenge, while Oklahoma wants a third straight win over Kalen DeBoer‘s bunch, earning the program’s first win in the College Football Playoff.

More on John Mateer, comeback from thumb injury

Dr. Steven Shin is a legend in Norman for the work he did on Mateer’s thumb. When news broke of the injury, the original thought was that Mateer would miss around a month of time. This included the Red River Shootout against Texas, only for the injury to heal in time to get Mateer out there.

Oklahoma may have lost in Dallas but benefited massively from having Mateer back in other games. Wins such as the South Carolina one or two weeks later in Knoxville vs. Tennessee are why the Sooners were part of the 12-team CFP field.