Favre targets Vikings return

Favre: Another comeback

You can't go past the arm - if that is not up to par when the time comes then I can't play. I went through it last year and it affected me and the team. I won't do that again. That's why I did the surgery.

Brett Favre
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Brett Favre has finally spoken out on his latest 'will-he, won't he' retirement saga, after confirming he has had arm surgery and is interested in playing with the Minnesota Vikings next season.

39-year-old Favre retired last season, only to change his mind and produce his acrimonious split from the Green Bay Packers and eventual switch to the New York Jets.

After a disappointing end to his spell in the Big Apple due to an arm injury, Favre again retired and was released by the Jets - but once again it seems as though he just cannot stay retired.

With weeks and weeks of speculation already passed, Favre has now spoken out to confirm that he has had surgery on his throwing arm with a view to playing on for yet another season.

What's more, this time around Favre is determined to join the Vikings - the big NFC North rivals of the Packers, who he played for for 13 seasons.

Rehabbing

"I am rehabbing, doing what I need to get it into shape, I have talked with the Vikings, nothing other than are you interested and vice-versa," Favre confirmed on American talk show Joe Buck Live on HBO.

"I've had the procedure (operation) which they know, it's more or less about how my arm feels and then we will go from there.

"You can't go past the arm - if that is not up to par when the time comes then I can't play. I went through it last year and it affected me and the team. I won't do that again. That's why I did the surgery.

"If it ever gets the point where it did before it started hurting then the biggest question mark is out of the way."

The three-time league MVP and Super Bowl winner is the holding of almost all the major quarterback records, with 464 career touchdown passes 5,720 pass completions (5,720) and 169 victories as starting quarterback.

Vikings coach Brad Childress has Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels vying for the quarterback position, but neither are exactly star quality and the most important position on the field is the one major weakness in a strong Vikings roster.

Perfect fit

Favre knows this, and also knows that the Vikings would represent a real chance of making another Super Bowl - and what's more he is familiar with the workings of their offence.

"It makes a lot of sense because the pieces are in place," Favre said.

The other major factor for the future Hall of Famer is how the news would go down in Green Bay, and how the fans that used to adore him would react if he appeared at Lambeau Field dressed in the purple uniform of the Vikings.

"I don't know what to tell them. Vince Lombardi went to the Washington Redskins and his name is on the NFL trophy. I don't hear too many people say, 'that damn traitor he went to

Washington'."

"Time heals a lot of things. I have nothing but the highest regard for Green Bay. I mean that sincerely, the 16 years I spent there, you can't take away. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

"They chose to go in a different direction and that's OK. I chose to play again and that's OK. It's football. It's not life or death."