updated 11:00 p.m. ET Sept. 22, 2006

IRVING, Texas - Squeezing his broken right hand into a fist, Terrell Owens saw how far he could curl his fingers and smiled.

“When we get back next week,” he told teammate Sam Hurd, “my goal is for it to touch.”

Owens is so pleased with how his hand is healing, he said Friday that he will “definitely” play for the Dallas Cowboys in Philadelphia on Oct. 8, a game for him that’s been marked on his calendar since the schedule was released.

“I’ll be ready,” said Owens, his injured hand wrapped in gauze.

With the Cowboys having a bye this weekend, there remains a chance Owens won’t miss any games. They play at Tennessee a week from Sunday, and coach Bill Parcells believes Owens could be back then.

“The swelling is down and he’s running,” Parcells said, adding that Owens ran a lot Friday. “So it will just be a question of when he can catch. Soon as he can do that, we’re good to go.”

Owens lists himself as “day to day.” Asked whether he expects to play against the Titans, he laughed and said, “I can catch with one hand.”

Parcells said it “would be a little ambitious” to expect Owens to practice Monday. He could still work out Wednesday or Thursday to be eligible to play against the Titans, according to Parcells’ rules.

Owens broke the bone attached to his right ring finger early in a game against Washington on Sunday night. Although it started to swell and he dropped several passes because he was having trouble squeezing the ball, he waited until the Cowboys were comfortably ahead before telling trainers about the problem.

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A plate held down by three screws was implanted Monday. On Friday, Owens patted his left hand into the palm of his right one and proudly said that was something he couldn’t do without pain the day before, another sign of progress.

“It’s getting better,” he said.

The Cowboys are off Saturday and Sunday, with many players headed out of town. Owens said he wasn’t going anywhere, with Parcells adding that he expects T.O. to get some treatment. Owens took home a plastic bag filled with several rolls of tape and gauze.

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Owens said he expects to wear protective padding on or under his glove once he returns. He’s not sure whether he’ll eventually have the plate removed. The plate used to help heal his broken ankle in 2005 was taken out because the screws were causing him pain.

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