Nick Foles doesn't need surgery on collarbone injury, could return in 6 weeks

According to FOX Sports NFL insider Mike Garafalo, the shoulder injury suffered by Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback Nick Foles will not require surgery.

Eagles QB Nick Foles does not need surgery on his fractured collarbone, source says. Best possible news. Hope is he's back in 6 weeks.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 3, 2014

What this means is that the worst case scenario for Foles has been avoided. If surgery was required on Foles' fractured collarbone, the Eagles quarterback could have been looking at a 10 week recovery period. Instead, Foles will be able to return in six weeks. (Or six to eight weeks, per Adam Schefter.)

Six weeks from yesterday, when Foles first sustained his injury during the Eagles-Texans game, is December 14. The Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys that week on Sunday Night Football. If Foles is ready to return by then, he will have only missed five games.

Veteran quarterback Mark Sanchez will fill in for Foles during his recovery. If Sanchez plays well and the Eagles are winning, there's no guarantee Philadelphia will go back to Foles, who has struggled at times this season. If Sanchez struggles, however, going back to Foles will be an easy call.

At this point, there's really no telling how it'll all play out. The most important thing to glean from this report is that Foles' injury isn't season-ending. The third-year quarterback should be healthy enough to play in mid-to-late December.