GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley expects to be released from an area hospital Thursday morning, league sources told ESPN's Ed Werder.
Finley has been hospitalized, originally in intensive care, since Sunday. He suffered a spinal contusion in his neck area, causing temporary numbness in his extremities, after a hit he sustained during the Packers' 31-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns. He has been sharing images from his MRIs, CT scans and other tests with other neurosurgeons and spinal injury specialists and might visit other doctors upon being released.
A steady flow of visitors, including several teammates, have seen Finley at the hospital. Fellow Packers tight end Andrew Quarless, who visited Finley on Sunday night, said one of the first things Finley asked the doctor was when he could return to the field.
"One of his biggest things was, 'I'm going to get back,'" Quarless said. "That's in any of us. Anytime any guys go down, I mean this is what we love to do, so that's the first thing [Finley asked]. 'When am I going to get back? What's the timetable?' and stuff like that. So that's a little bit of what they talked about."
Packers tight end Brandon Bostick visited Finley on Monday and also came away thinking Finley has every intention of resuming his career.
"You know Jermichael, he's a competitor; he definitely wants to play," Bostick said. "I definitely think he'll be back as soon as he can."
However, Finley still faces a long medical evaluation process before that can happen. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said no decision will be made until all the medical reports are in.
"Jermichael Finley is still seeking the opinions from specialists," McCarthy said Wednesday. "[He's] doing better each and every day. Just communicating, frankly, with someone who just came from the hospital right before practice [who] said he's doing well. He's making progress."
Finley was injured in the fourth quarter Sunday when he took a hit to the head from Browns safety Tashaun Gipson. The game was delayed for six minutes while medical personnel attended to Finley.
Gipson, who was penalized for the hit, said he did not receive any notification that he would be fined.
He also said that he reached out to Finley through a text message but declined to say whether he received a response.
"I've been playing this game for 17 years now, and I've never been involved in anything like that," Gipson said. "I've never been personally involved in something like this. It was a scary feeling, a scary sight, seeing a guy's body just limp like that out there. You definitely never want to see something like that happen. And the later effects of it. It's definitely unfortunate.
"All I can do is keep him in my prayers. I know he's got kids. I have kids, and I know I wouldn't want my kids having to see their dad going through something like that. My prayers are with him, and I hope he has a speedy recovery."
Information from ESPN's Ed Werder and ESPN Browns reporter Pat McManamon was used in this report.