Alex Mack, a crucial part of the Atlanta Falcons offense, will attempt to shrug off injury on Sunday when he plays in the Super Bowl with a fractured leg.

ESPN reports that the center, whose presence in the offensive line helped Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to this season’s MVP award, will have a pain-killing injection before the game. He has been limited in practice all week.

“Getting him a chance to see him practice at full speed on Wednesday, Thursday was really important for me,” the Falcons coach, Dan Quinn, told ESPN on Saturday. “I wanted to make sure he could go do his thing and just really fly and haul. He’s such a unique player because of the quickness he plays with, so I was pleased to see that. We held him the week prior to heal and get right. I was pleased he got the work in. It was totally by design. We were going to give him half his normal reps on Wednesday and Thursday and let him do the normal Friday, and that’s how we laid out the week for him. It went exactly like we thought.”

The fracture is in Mack’s left fibula, which he first broke in 2014. “I just know his toughness and strength is so great,” Quinn said earlier this week. “The good thing is, I know he’s feeling better than he did in the NFC Championship Game. But yeah, I’m concerned. I’m not panicked, but I’m concerned.”

The four-time Pro Bowler’s back-up, Ben Garland, is available should the injury flare up during the game. Mack is set to join a small group of players who have played in a Super Bowl with severe injuries. Terrell Owens caught nine passes for 122 yards in Super Bowl XXXIX weeks after fracturing a leg and tearing ankle ligaments - his surgeon had advised him not to play. At Super Bowl XXXVII two of the Oakland Raiders’ cornerbacks – Charles Woodson and Tory James – played on broken legs.