The Bears don’t plan to put quarterback Justin Fields on injured reserve and don’t anticipate him to need surgery to fix his dislocated thumb, coach Matt Eberflus said Friday.

“We are not on that path right now,’ Eberflus said.

That opens the door for the Bears quarterback to return to game action in weeks and not months.

Fields’ grip strength is getting better and he’s feeling better, Eberflus said, though it’s not strong enough for him to throw a football. They’ll evaluate him again Monday, when they believe the swelling in his thumb will have further subsided.

Fields was injured when he was sacked during the Bears’ first possession of the third quarter Sunday against the Vikings. X-rays were negative but an MRI confirmed the dislocation, which comes with tearing the muscles that surround the base of the thumb.

Fields was spotted earlier this week with a small purple brace on his thumb. He hasn’t been on the sideline during the portions of practice open to the media.

The Bears officially ruled Fields out for Sunday’s game against the Raiders. Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent will start in his place, with veteran Nathan Peterman serving as the team’s second-stringer. The Bears signed quarterback Trace McSorley to the practice squad earlier this week.

A trip to injured reserve would have cost Fields at least four games, per league rules.