Darren Sproles injury: Saints RB inactive vs. Raiders

Saints running back Darren Sproles is officially listed as inactive for this afternoon's game against the Oakland Raiders.

Sproles had surgery on his broken left hand a few weeks ago and was hoping to return to the field this weekend, but the swelling in his hand and wrist proved to be too much to bear today. Sproles, the Saints' most potent threat out of the backfield, will miss his third straight game after missing the Saints' last two games against the Eagles and the Falcons.

Sproles' absence from the Saints lineup means that fantasy owners must look elsewhere for options at running back this week -- perhaps even in the Saints' backfield, where third-string back Chris Ivory has pounded out two good games over the last two weeks.