FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 10: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots cheers as he runs on to the field before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Tom Brady’s toughness is very well-documented, and it’s helped him play at a high-level well into his 40s.

But there was one injury back in 2018 that truly stands as a testament to how strong of body and mind Brady is. A new book on the New England Patriots reveals that back in 2018 before the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Brady was dealing with a thumb injury.

“It looked as though Brady’s hand had been slashed by a blade,” one section of the book says, per the New York Post. “The base of his thumb was split wide open. The laceration was gaping.”

Per the book, Brady’s thumb was so badly injured that it required stitches. However, the stitches made Brady so uncomfortable that he had a doctor trim the sutures so he could play.

Brady’s gamble paid off. Despite trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter, Brady pulled off two touchdown drives to win the game.

Just two weeks later, Brady would be hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy for the sixth time as the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

It really is remarkable just how durable Brady has been during his Hall of Fame career. Outside of his season-ending knee injury in 2008, Brady has never missed a game due to an injury.

He’s only even been knocked out of a game a handful of times.

Say what you will about the chicken-and-the-egg argument over Brady vs. Belichick, it’s clear that Tom Brady has a Hall of Fame caliber tough streak.