Friday 2 February 2018 07:44, UK
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol three days before Super Bowl LII.
Gronkowski was the Patriots' biggest injury concern ahead of Sunday's clash with the Philadelphia Eagles at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, a game you can see on Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Mix.
He had been suffering the after-effects of a hard hit by Jacksonville Jaguars safety Barry Church in their come-from-behind 24-20 win in the AFC Championship game on January 21.
Church was fined $24,309 (just over £17,000) for the helmet-to-helmet hit, which was deemed illegal and caused a key 15-yard penalty towards the end of the first half.
Gronkowski will speak to the media on Thursday night, which he would not have been allowed to undertake if he was still in the strict NFL concussion protocol.
The 28-year-old had merely said "yes" when asked whether he would be able to play on Sunday earlier in the week - he had returned to practice last Saturday and was designated as limited on Wednesday.
Gronkowski played in 14 games during the regular season, catching 69 passes for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns.
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