Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas expected to play in Super Bowl

Don’t worry Seattle Seahawks fans — even though both Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas were injured in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, they are both expected to play in Super Bowl XLIX.

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Sherman sprained his elbow and Thomas dislocated his shoulder on Sunday, but both finished the game and should be good to go on Feb. 1 when the Seahawks face the AFC champion New England Patriots.

Head coach Pete Carroll addressed the injuries of his star defenders on Monday, per ESPN.com:

"“Both those guys were in dire straits if they could play [after the injuries Sunday] and they didn’t flinch,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday. “Not for a second. Their courage and heart couldn’t have been more evident. Their willingness to throw their body out there was so impressive. Earl had a brace on his shoulder, and Richard couldn’t straighten his arm out.”"

Thomas was injured making a tackle in the first half, but returned and finished the game with five tackles.

Sherman was hurt on the first play of the fourth quarter when his arm got in between a Kam Chancellor tackle on the sideline.

At first, it was hard to tell which part of his arm Sherman had injured — he grimaced in pain for the rest of the series, straightening his fingers, flexing his wrist and holding his forearm.

The injury turned out to be the sprained elbow after X-rays on Sunday night came back negative.

Sherman had a great game before the injury, picking off a pass on Green Bay’s opening possession, defending another pass while making four tackles.

Luckily, Thomas, Sherman and other injured members of the Seahawks will have two weeks to recover before taking on Tom Brady and the Patriots.

New England put a beating on the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, clinching the AFC title in a dominant 45-7 win in which the Patriots posted 397 total yards and held on to the ball for 37:49.

Seattle will definitely need a healthy Sherman and Thomas to keep up with the Patriots offense.

Kickoff for Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale Ariz., will be on Feb. 1 at 3:30 p.m. PT.