Tom Brady shares images of thumb injury that almost kept him out of the Super Bowl as he has gash treated with stitches, massage and acupuncture

• Tom Brady revealed that the thumb injury he suffered just days before the AFC Championship Game in January was worse than many thought at the time 
• He showed the gash and how he treated it on the final episode of his Facebook docu-series Tom vs Time
• Brady cut his hand on a player's helmet during practice, and initially thought he might be forced to sit out for the rest of the pre-season
• He was able to get back on the field just five days later, treating the injury with stitches, massage and acupuncture 

Tom Brady almost missed the final two games of the post-season when he cut his thumb open on a teammate's helmet during practice.

That injury was kept very much under wraps however, literally, with Brady covering it in bandages and a glove as it healed, just in time for him to start in the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and later the Super Bowl.

Brady is now revealing however that the injury was worse than people thought, showing the giant gash he suffered for the first time in the latest episode of his Facebook docu-series Tom vs. Time. 

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'I am looking down at my thumb as it split open, and I'm thinking I really don't know what happened to my thumb,' says Brady on the final episode of the season. 

'But I know it doesn't feel good, and I have a hard time believing I am going to be able to go out and play well against the number one defense in the league in four days.'

Brady is then seen as he rehabilitates his injury with a combination of stitches, massage and even acupuncture. 

Five days later he went 26-for-38 while passing for for 290 yards and two touchdowns against the Jaguars.

He was less successful however in the game two weeks after the AFC Championship. 

Brady has already confirmed that he will be back for at least one more season with the New England Patriots, but it seems as though it may be his last.

The five-time Super Bowl winner appeared on Good Morning America for an interview with his former NFL opponent Michael Strahan on Monday and noted the challenges of trying to balance life on and off the field.

He also revealed that he had said a decade ago that his goal was to play until he was 40, a feat which he noted at the time would be 'amazing.'

Brady turned 40 last August.

Brady was on the show to promote the final episode of his Facebook series Tom vs Time. 

He brought along a clip from the episode, which showed his wife Gisele Bundchen and daughter Vivian speaking with him over FaceTime as he prepared for the big game in Minnesota.

'Daddy, we're here to make you win,' says an excited Vivian as she sits next to her mother.

The little girl also expresses her delight at the fact that she is drinking hot chocolate, a rare treat in the Brady-Bundchen household, where sugar is just one of the many banned foods. 

Brady's very strict diet has been a topic of discussion for some time now, but as he revealed to Strahan that is part of the reason he wanted to do the Facebook series. 

'It requires a lot of discipline ... to get up and try to make the right decisions. When your priorities are in  order and you can make decisions, I believe you can extend your career, as a lot of athletes are trying to do now' stated Brady. 

'When I first started, it wasn't like that. I think athletes may look at my situation and say, wow, maybe I could get to 40 also. It's cool for me to think about.'

He also said that he wishes he were living the healthy and active life he is now back when he was 22 and first starting out in the NFL. 

'I was a late bloomer. You know, through high school and early into college, I was kind of growing into my body in a lot of ways,' said Brady. 

'My routine and the things I did were not good. Not conducive to my goals. How I was working out. How hydrated I was. How I was eating. How I was taking care of my body. 

'Early on, I didn't envision myself being able to continue to play because my arm hurt so bad all the time. I changed my routine. Learned a bunch of different things. And tried to apply those things in my life.'

He said that all those things began to pay off as he got older, with all the work he was doing off the field starting to show in his performance. It paid off. As I got to 30 years old and 31, 32, I thought, wow, I'm starting to make improvements. 

'When you work hard and don't get the benefit, it's discouraging. I was working hard at the right thing. It was showing in my performance,' explained Brady. 

'If I continue to refine my routine. What I was eating. Drinking. The rest I was getting. Type of treatments I was doing on my body. I thought, it's really shown that you can sustain a certain level of performance over a period of time.'

The one thing he still struggles to manage, however, is finding a life-work balance.

'That is one thing I have learned as I have gotten older. There's, you know, collateral effects to every decision I make,' explained Brady. 

'I have a wife that aspires to be a lot of things. She traveled a lot. My oldest son I love is here in New York. Three kids. And you're just always trying to juggle. You want to be there for them.'

He continued: 'The hockey games. The soccer games. You realize the level of commitment it takes to give as much as you can to the team that needs you.'

Brady told Strahan that he believes this is the case for all professional athletes. 

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Brady opens up to @michaelstrahan on playing football at 40, his family, and his docu-series. pic.twitter.com/nOcrSQNiBA

— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 12, 2018

Earlier in the interview, Strahan revealed that Brady's supermodel wife expressed her concerns to him about her husband's ambition at a dinner almost 10 years ago.

'She was like, you need to talk to my husband. I've been with him five years. He wants to play ten more,' said Strahan. 

'That was a long time ago. You still say you want to play five more years.'

Brady laughed at the comment, quickly noting he was not a 'great math student' at that time.

'She's right. I did say that. When we met, I was 29, 30 years old,' said Brady.

'I thought, man, if I could get to 40, it would be amazing. A great career. Eighteen years in the NFL. Learned a lot.'

He then said: 'It's been great love for me. I love the sport. I love the competition. I love my teammates. I love working with people that I love to work with. So that part's hard to give up. Especially when I feel lucky do it.'

And there was also talk of Brady's recent Super Bowl loss.

'It's a process you have to deal with. It's so great to be in that game, but to win that game is very tough. And we had a couple of close losses to the Giants, unfortunately, and another one against the Eagles,' said Brady. 

'I think you realize the sun comes up the next morning. Your life goes on. But, you know, those games live with you for the rest of your life. And, that's part of being an athlete. Part of being in a very competitive sport. It's tough to win the game.' 

Brady went on to say: 'I'm proud of our efforts throughout the year. Overcame a lot of adversity, like you need to do to get to that game. Just came up a little bit short.'