New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts Preview: QB Andrew Luck to Start if he is ‘ready’

The highly anticipated rematch between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts might not happen if Andrew Luck is not healthy enough to play.

Luck has been dealing with a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the last two games. The extent of his injury is currently unknown. Head coach Chuck Pagano said, "when he's ready, we're going to put him out there."

"If [Luck is] ready to go, we'll put him out there," Pagano said. "That's as far as I'll say on that. He's a great communicator. We've got great docs and great trainers working with him. When he's ready, we're going to put him out there."

Pagano added that it will not be his call.

"That's not my forte down in the training room," Pagano said. "I didn't go to school for that, so I rely heavily on our docs and trainers to communicate with us and communicate with Andrew and get communication from Andrew, all those kind of things. Again, he's heading in the right direction. He gets better and better every single day that he's here. It's day-to-day."

Luck reportedly threw the football during practice on Wednesday. Although he was making real throws down the sidelines and to the end zone, Luck only practiced for a portion of the entire session.

"I'm pretty darn close to where I want to be," Luck said Wednesday. "I know for a fact our higher-ups in this building are not going to put anybody out there that's not ready to play at a productive level in the NFL, that can't help the team. That's sort of the approach I'm talking about. I'm not going to worry about the what ifs or the hypotheticals."

Luck has not had much success against Tom Brady and the Patriots. The last time they faced off during the AFC Championship game, Luck completed 12 of 33 passes for 126 yards and two interceptions. The Colts lost that game 45-7.

If Luck is not healthy enough, veteran Matt Hasselbeck will get the start. Hasselbeck filled in for Luck when he left the game in Week 3. Since taking over, the Colts have been on a three-game winning streak. Hasselbeck is 48-of-76 for 495 yards and three touchdowns.

The Colts are hosting the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Patriots, Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. on NBC.