Athletes often contend that toe injuries are some of the most painful ailments to overcome. And while it’s not a sexy appendage to brag about injuring — notice Keanu Reeves never talks glowingly about injuring his toe during his inspirational speech to his teammates during The Replacements — this can be extremely troublesome for fantasy enthusiasts.

So forgive me for not celebrating when Lions RB Jahvid Best returns to practice on Friday (via the Detroit Free Press on Twitter), one day after saying he is good to go for Sunday.

We know how this scenario is going to play out. You watch NFL.com Fantasy Live waiting for the injury report, Best says he’s a go, you put him in the lineup — he stubs his toe on the second carry and then he’s out for the game.

And really, you can run this scenario for many of the big names injured this week, Ray Rice (who practiced on Friday), Andre Johnson and the rest of them.

Now, what do you do with these guys? In some instances you have to bench them, provided you have decent replacements. You certainly will not bench Dre Johnson for Brian Finneran. I have a league where I have no choice but to start Rice. But if you have somebody like Darren McFadden on your bench, that’s a money play.

So this is a case-by-case situation. If you have good options, you might be better off benching some of your superstars — a notion that has been foreign for quite some time. If you have any questions, be sure to hit up Fantasy Live on Twitter.

– Adam Rank

Tweet your fantasy questions to @nflfantasy. Your Tweet might end up on the air on NFL.com Fantasy Live.

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