Washington QB Locker on same recovery schedule

SEATTLE – There’s no change in the recovery time for injured Washington quarterback Jake Locker.

That was the word from Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham on Thursday after Locker had his latest visit with a hand specialist a day earlier. Locker’s broken right thumb required surgery to insert pins and a plate to stabilize the fracture.

Willingham said the timetable for Locker’s return is still six to eight weeks.

Assuming there are no setbacks, the back end of that period would get Locker back around the time of the Apple Cup on Nov. 22, when the Huskies play cross-state rivals, the Washington State Cougars.

Locker has another exam in about two weeks, at which time a better idea of when he could return will be known, Willingham said.

“The timetable will be exactly what we thought it would be,” Willingham said. “There will be later decisions based on the healing process that takes place.”

Despite missing 11/2 games, Locker is still the leading rusher for the winless Huskies.